News of china

China imports Argentina soy meal in trial amid US tensions

26-06-2025 17:45 China has booked a rare shipment of soybean meal from Argentina amid an ongoing trade war with the United States.

lithium mining

Europe's lithium quest hampered by China and lack of cash

20-06-2025 09:20 Too much regulation and not enough investment, the paradox facing a Europe –in need of lithium.

ART & DIPLOMACY

Brush with censorship: Milei-critical artist has work taken down at Beijing Embassy

04-06-2025 13:00 Dozens of artworks were due to be presented at Argentina’s Embassy in China. Among them was a painting by Verónica Gómez, who in the past incorporated Jaiver Milei and Karina Milei into her art. For that reason, it was ordered to be taken down.

by Juan Luis González

TRADE WARS

Trump says he will double steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%

31-05-2025 10:35 US President Donald Trump says will double steel and aluminium import tariffs to 50% from next week.

TRADE & COMMERCE

Lula and Xi to ink new deals as Brazil shrugs off Trump’s trade threats

13-05-2025 08:51 Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and China’s Xi Jinping are set to ink new trade-related agreements in Beijing on Tuesday.

AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY

China is said seeking Argentina crops as it skirts US tariffs

09-05-2025 08:31 China signed a letter of intent with exporters in Argentina to buy about US$900 million of soybeans, corn and vegetable oil.

GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY

Colombia moves to join China's Belt and Road

07-05-2025 11:19 Colombian leader Gustavo Petro says he will sign a "letter of intent" to join the Belt and Road Initiative, a central pillar of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping's bid to expand Beijing's economic and political clout overseas.

ARGENTINA-CHINA RELATIONS

Chinese business interests await gesture from Milei towards Xi

01-05-2025 09:18 Over-enthusiasm for the United States has damaged links with China, hampering political moves towards investment and trade agreements. A presidential trip to the Asian power is the key to smoothing the acrimony.

by Eugenia Muzio

Geopolitcs & trade

Xi is trying to turn world against US as Trump cuts trade deals

29-04-2025 11:03 Beijing officials are racing to turn foreign governments against the United States inside a 90-day window Trump has granted all nations — except China — to strike trade deals during a tariff reprieve.

SUPPLY LINES

Mercosur shields Paraguay from Trump tariff pain, says finance chief

23-04-2025 22:29 Membership in one of the world’s most protectionist trade blocs will help shield Paraguay from the worst of near-term disruptions caused by US tariffs.

AGRICULTURE & LIVESTOCK

From meat to grains, trade war is a boon to Brazil and Argentina

22-04-2025 14:38 Escalating tensions between the United States and China have created an opening for Brazil and Argentina to ramp up exports.

DIPLOMATIC ROW

Chinese Embassy hits back after Bessent’s remarks in Argentina

15-04-2025 17:48 Beijing’s Embassy in Buenos Aires issues expressing “deep dissatisfaction and categorical rejection of the malicious slanders and libellous remarks” made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during visit to Buenos Aires.

GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY

Trump’s China trade war is forcing Latin America to pick a side

15-04-2025 14:02 Intensifying battle between world’s two largest economies has left governments grappling with the reality that their days of doing big business with Beijing without serious blowback from Washington are numbered.

US TREASURY SECRETARY

Bessent expects Argentina to be able to pay off China swap

14-04-2025 19:13 Scott Bessent hails Argentina as a free-market beacon in Latin America; US Treasury secretary said he expects Argentina to be able to pay off its swap line with China, but that US government isn’t considering providing any direct credit.

As I see it

Trump has China in the crosshairs

12-04-2025 05:41 The 19th century belonged to the United Kingdom, the 20th to the United States. And the 21st?

by James Neilson

EURO TRADE PLANS

EU races to expand two-trillion-euro trade network as US links sour

11-04-2025 13:49 The European Union is racing to clinch trade deals with countries around the world in an effort to diversify away from an increasingly protectionist United States.

GLOBAL TRADE WAR

Trump stuns with tariff backtrack

10-04-2025 19:26 US President Donald Trump upends global markets and trade by U-turning on proposed tariffs; Benefit for Argentina is only temporarily, unless new deal reached.

CURRENCY SWAP

Argentina renews part of China swap ahead of Bessent visit

10-04-2025 17:13 Argentina renews a portion of its US$18-billion currency swap line with China; Activated part being extended for another 12 months amounts to US$5 billion.

ECONOMY – ANALYSIS

IMF deal fine print could disrupt China swap renewal

10-04-2025 05:36 In June, the grace period China granted Javier Milei expires. Washington is already pressuring Buenos Aires over the currency swap, with US$6.5 billion remaining frozen.

by Eugenia Muzio

TRUMP'S TARIFF WAR

Strength in numbers: Latin America urges unity in face of Trump tariffs

09-04-2025 17:38 Latin American leaders at CELAC summit in Honduras call for a united front to tackle US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught.

GLOBAL TRADE WAR

Trump pauses tariffs for 90 days but hits China harder

09-04-2025 17:00 In the midst of Donald Trump's rising tariffs he has called for quite a radical shift within his global trade war, which will affect many countries.

TRADE WARS

Trump tariffs everyone, with rate on China set to soar above 50%

03-04-2025 00:24 US President Donald Trump announces steepest US tariffs in a century, unnerving investors who see a trade war ahead.

AS I SEE IT

Demography should help the US keep China at bay

15-03-2025 07:46 Despite the fact that demography has always been China’s not so secret weapon, in recent years it has become a major problem that seems certain to put a premature end to the imperial dreams of Xi and his immediate successors.

by James Neilson

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Is Donald Trump good for Argentina?

15-03-2025 07:40 Trump’s new transactional and short-term economic order overlaps with a new gangster-style and hyper-materialistic political order.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Global trade

Trump escalates global trade war, sparking tit-for-tat tariffs

04-03-2025 12:27 Confirmation of the levies lays to rest doubts Trump would actually follow through on his repeated threats to upend global economic ties to counter what he casts as imbalanced trade.

As I see it

Hail to the chiefs

01-03-2025 06:15 Much of the world is reverting to an older formula in which it is taken for granted that everything depends on the whims of a handful of big men.

by James Neilson

GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY

Gutting aid, US cedes soft power game to China

12-02-2025 14:52 Successive US administrations have vowed to wage a global competition with China. But by freezing nearly all US foreign aid, Washington has effectively ceded one of its main levers of influence.

AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY

Soy falls as US-China talks loom, weather improves in Argentina

05-02-2025 15:23 Soybean prices fall on worries that US-China trade tensions and bearish weather in Argentina.

PANAMA CANAL THREAT

Rubio lays down ultimatum to Panama over canal

03-02-2025 09:28 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio makes real on Donald Trump's threats and warns President José Raúl Mulino he must make immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the Panama canal.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

‘Trump is the catalyst,’ agree former ambassadors to China

01-02-2025 09:44 Argentina’s two most recent ambassadors to China, Diego Guelar and Sabino Vaca Narvaja, discuss the chessboard facing the world’s two key powers as Donald Trump begins a new term in the United States.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Artificial Intelligence

DeepSeek, Chinese AI startup roiling US tech giants

28-01-2025 11:25 Fears of upheaval in the AI gold rush rocked Wall Street, following the emergence of a popular ChatGPT-like model from China, with US President Donald Trump saying it was a "wake-up call" for Silicon Valley.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORuM

Milei praises Trump at Davos, but seeks deeper ties with China

22-01-2025 16:37 President indicates he has shifted stance on China, describing the nation as a "great trade partner," and showers praise on US President Donald Trump.

Fossil Fueled

Trump leaves Paris climate agreement

21-01-2025 11:45 Trump withdraws from the Paris climate accord for a second time, a defiant rejection of global efforts to combat warming as weather events intensify worldwide.

Global Health

WHO 'regrets' Trump decision to pull US from organisation

21-01-2025 11:08 Trump directs US withdrawal from the World Health Organization, triggering "significant restructuring" in the organisation's future.

Soybean Trade War

Trump trade war to hurt US farmers more as China turns to Brazil

11-12-2024 14:10 Donald Trump’s initial trade war with China devastated American soybean farmers, slashing exports by nearly 80%. As tensions mount for a possible reprise, the stakes are higher: China has diversified its agricultural imports, turning to Brazil, Argentina, and Australia for staples like soy, corn, and cotton.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU reaches long-sought Mercosur deal despite French objections

06-12-2024 12:47 European Union and Mercosur bloc clinch trade deal despite objections of France, which will try to block process; Signing and ratification process could take as long as 18 months.

AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY

Argentina seeks its first wheat shipments to China in decades

30-11-2024 09:14 Argentina wheat traders are seeking to close their first significant sales to China since the 1990s, according to the head of the country’s top crop-exporting group.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Long live pragmatism, carajo!

21-11-2024 18:04 President Javier Milei is adjusting his rhetoric to the challenges of power – from his frosty exchanges with Lula and his rapprochement with Xi Jinping, to his contradictions with Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni.

by Javier Calvo

SINO-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS

Xi, Lula meet in Brasília to 'enhance' diplomatic ties

20-11-2024 10:52 Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Brazil to strengthen ties with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, focusing on enhancing trade relations, aligning development strategies, and marking 50 years of diplomatic relations.

by Ramon Sahmkow, AFP

BILATERAL RELATIONS

From ‘assassins’ to ally? Milei caps turnaround by meeting China's Xi

19-11-2024 13:40 Half-hour discussion with Chinese premier takes place on sidelines of G20 Leaders Summit in Rio de Janiero.

Foreign relations & diplomacy

Milei’s meeting with Xi signals he’s come full circle on China

17-11-2024 08:44 President Javier Milei is preparing for his first sit-down with Xi Jinping, despite once scoffing that he’d never cut deals with communists.

Trade tensions

Lula’s embrace of Xi sets up a clash over Trump’s China policy

14-11-2024 12:37 Brazil’s President Lula is advancing a strategic partnership with China, pursuing infrastructure projects to boost Brazil’s economic ties with Asia, despite the risks of upsetting their other largest trade partner: the United States.

Fast fashion

Buy now, pay later: Latin America pressured by Chinese online shops

14-11-2024 07:37 Chinese ultra-fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu have made it Latin America. As Chinese commercial influence grows in the region, governments are implementing tax measures to protect domestic markets.

UNITED STATES ELECTION 2024

World leaders pledge to work with Trump as he claims US election win

06-11-2024 07:34 World leaders raced to congratulate Donald Trump as he claimed a stunning US election victory over Kamala Harris, while financial markets also rose.

Lihtium in Argentina

Eramet buys out Tsingshan from Argentina lithium project

24-10-2024 17:50 French miner Eramet SA to buy back Tsingshan Holding Group Co’s stake in an Argentinian lithium project

GEOPOLITICS

Brazil reluctant to pick between US and China in polarised world

23-10-2024 23:38 Brazilian leaders are walking a fine diplomatic line to appeal to both the US and China and shield their nation from any potential blowback in an increasingly polarised world.

Economic - Analysis

Global public debt to hit US$100 trillion by end of 2024, IMF says

16-10-2024 06:53 Global public debt risks of rising to US$100 trillion by the end of 2024, warns International Monetary Fund.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

How economic and strategic alliances are changing in a multipolar world

12-10-2024 06:23 A guide to the new fault lines of geopolitics — from BRICS versus the G7 to Lula and Milei’s ideological rivalry in Latin America.

FOREIGN POLICY

Xi’s ‘strategic patience’ pays off as Milei U-turns on China ties

10-10-2024 13:20 President Javier Milei has surprised everyone by changing his approach to the Asian giant. Jorge Malena, a specialist in contemporary Chinese politics and international relations, explains the “realism and pragmatism” behind the La Libertad Avanza leader’s shift in stance.

by Cecilia Degl'Innocenti