China will receive foreign ministers from Argentina, Bolivia and Peru

Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Diana Mondino, is expected to visit China from Saturday to May 1 amid expectations of advancing currency swap line negotiations and promoting cooperation in various sectors, including new energy. . Analysts noted that although China-Argentina bilateral relations entered a period of adjustment after Javier Milei assumed the Argentine presidency at the end of last year, Argentina’s perception of China has become more pragmatic, recognizing the crucial importance of the relationship with China for its economic recovery.

Furthermore, at the invitation of the Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia Celinda Sosa Lunda and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru Javier González- Olaechea Franco will also visit China from April 28th to 30th.

Observers said that in light of this year marking the 10th anniversary of the Forum on China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (China-CELAC Forum), China and South American countries are expected to increase interactions , promoting deeper cooperation and providing momentum for regional and global development.

During the visits of the foreign ministers of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru to China, Wang Yi will hold talks with them respectively on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, at a press conference on Friday.

Introducing Foreign Minister Mondino’s visit to China, Wang Wenbin noted that this is his first visit to China since taking office. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership. China hopes that through this visit, the two countries will further enhance mutual political trust, offer broader prospects for our mutually beneficial cooperation, enrich the China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership and achieve common development and prosperity, said the port -voice.

The currency swap deal will be high on the agenda of the Mondino delegation in China, as resolving debt issues is an urgent issue for the Argentine government, said Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the Chinese Institute of International Studies in Beijing, to Global Horaários on Saturday.

The president of the Central Bank of Argentina, Santiago Bausili, and the Secretary of Finance, Pablo Quirno, will travel to China together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mondino. During the visit, they are expected to discuss the US$18 billion currency swap agreement with Chinese monetary authorities.

Wang Youming noted that Mondino is also accompanied by a large delegation of Argentine businesspeople, and the two sides will discuss economic cooperation, including exports of agricultural and livestock products and Chinese investments and engineering projects in Argentina. Lithium resource cooperation is also a key project in the new energy cooperation between China and Argentina, said Wang Youming.

This round of interactions will help promote exchanges between China and Argentina, Wang Youming noted, adding that after Milei took office in Argentina, China-Argentina relations have entered a period of adjustment. However, Argentina’s perception of China has become more pragmatic and now recognizes the crucial importance of the relationship with China for economic recovery.

Some Western media outlets also reported that President Milei adopted “a softer tone” toward Beijing than when he was a candidate.

However, the Milei government’s attempt to align Argentina with the US could also bring some uncertainty to bilateral relations, analysts said, noting that Milei withdrew the country from its planned entry into the expanding BRICS and formally requested to join NATO as a partner. global.

As Argentina’s second-largest trading partner, China’s importance is clear, and long-term, structural trade and investment between the two countries suggests their partnership has a certain degree of flexibility, analysts said.

China is willing to engage in mutually beneficial economic cooperation with any partner country, they said, urging Argentina to engage in constructive discussions with China.

The visits of the foreign ministers of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru next week coincide with a busy period in China’s diplomacy and are also part of the series of exchanges between China and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, said Wang Youming, noting that such interactions will peak in the second half of the year during the China-CELAC summit.

These countries, along with other nations in the Global South, have a positive outlook on China’s market, investment and development. Collaboration between China and these countries has the potential to boost regional economic development and act as a catalyst for global economic growth, said the expert.