On November 14 th, the president of China, Xi Jinping, departed on a nine-day Latin American diplomatic tour, which, according to analysts, is aimed at expanding the country’s influence in the region.
During said visit, Xi Jinping attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and had a meeting with the president of the US, Joe Biden. The main subject of the discussion between presidents was the newly elected American president, Donald Trump. Xi stated that the goal of a “stable, healthy, and sustainable China-U.S. relationship” remains the same, and Beijing is ready to work with the new government – to uphold communication and deepen cooperation.
Aside from the above-mentioned, some of the important talking points were cybersecurity, trade, Taiwan, and Russia. The leaders of these countries agreed upon the control of nuclear weapons and declared that the decisions thereon should be made by human beings and not artificial intelligence. Additionally, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden expressed concerns over the development of relations between Russia and Northern Korea (DPRK) and the deployment of troops by DPRK in Ukraine. According to the National Security Advisor of the United States, Jake Sullivan, President Biden appealed to China to use its influence and prevent the NPRK from escalating the situation in Ukraine with such deployments in the future.
Notably, the leaders had a strict talk about Taiwan – Biden called on China to suspend its “destabilizing” military activities near the island. However, Xi placed the “Taiwan Independence separatist activities” at fault.
Moreover, one of the most crucial aims of Xi Jinping’s tour in Southern America is the inauguration of a Chinese-funded port in Peru. The port will be the biggest deep-water port on the continent and will reduce the time for transportation between the region and China. Importantly, in March 2024, the discussions about the Peruvian port took place at the Georgian Business Association with the ambassador of the Republic of Peru. According to the latter, the new port connecting Asia and Southern America will create new possibilities for deepening the trade relations with Georgia.
Despite the belief that the port will be economically beneficial to Southern America and China, especially when China has difficulties with Europe and the new tariff system announced by Donald Trump, the US underlines that China could use the port for military intelligence activities. Apart from this, one of the main US diplomats in the region, Brian Nichols, called on the Latin American countries and their nations to use caution when dealing with Chinese investments. State-backed Chinese publication Global Times published an article about the practical use of the port and stated that it would not be a „weapon for geopolitical competition.“ Further, the article mentions the American concerns about the military use thereof as a „smear. “
