China’s Patience Will Beat US Threats in Latin America
Donald Trump needs to shower some love on his neighbors if he wants to counter Xi Jinping’s regional charm offensive.
All smiles for Xi.
Photographer: Florence Lo-Pool/Getty Images
If the US-China contest for influence over Latin America was a football match, China would be ahead of the US 2-1 at halftime.
While Donald Trump was busy making deals in the Middle East, his Chinese counterpart hosted Latin American leaders with investment and credit lines pledges, visa exemptions and proclamations of friendship and cooperation. Last week’s summit between China and the CELAC forum, which groups 33 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, saw the Asian giant in full charm mode, reassuring the region it’s business as usual even if the US is trying to curb Chinese influence in the Americas. The contrast with the Trump White House’s bellicosity toward the region — tariffs, deportations and sanctions included — couldn’t be sharper.