(CNN Spanish) — The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Diana Mondino, sparked a controversy this Thursday by saying that an inspection that the Government carried out at the space base that China has in the province of Neuquén could not establish that it included military personnel, since “they are Chinese, They are all the same”. Later, she denied that there was any discriminatory intent in her words.
Mondino made these statements in an interview with the Clarín newspaper just a few days after he made an official visit to the Asian giant, where he met with his counterpart Wang Yi. Mondino stated that both agreed to “strengthen and expand cooperation.” Before the trip, Foreign Minister Wang had highlighted Argentina as a “strategic partner.”
In Paris, where she continued her tour to participate in a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the minister was consulted by the inspection, since the Government had indicated that it was going to guarantee that the activities at the base They are civilians as indicated in the agreement signed between the countries, and not military.
“No one detected that there were military personnel there […], those who were investigating did not identify that there were military personnel. They are Chinese, they are all the same,” he responded to Clarín.
Shortly after, the opposition came out to cross his statements and described them as discriminatory.
“Her expressions would be repugnant if she were a simple citizen, but as chancellor they acquire an unusual gravity,” he said in X https://twitter.com/JuanGrabois/status/1786214503174091149who was a presidential candidate in 2023 for Unión por la Patria.
The former ambassador to France https://twitter.com/EricCalcagno/status/1786184479763009708 on the same social network that Mondino “insults China” and that his phrase “despises a 5,000-year-old civilization.” For her part, the deputy for the Left Front Myriam Bregman https://twitter.com/myriambregman/status/1786218853606838600 with irony: “Thank goodness she is the diplomat…”.
The Chinese government has not issued a statement on the matter and CNN contacted the embassy for a statement, but has so far received no response.
Mondino’s clarification
This Friday, Mondino gave an interview to Radio Miter and assured that “in no way” was there any discriminatory intention or content in his statements.
“Those who participated are all the same, they are all civilians. We are talking about the visit to the Chinese space station in Neuquén, which was a few days ago and I highlighted the civilian nature of the personnel, that there were no uniforms. The Argentines were also all the same, none of them were in uniform,” he said.
“We were all in the same capacity as civilians. I am surprised by the argument, but hey, it doesn’t matter,” she added, saying that the phrase could have been taken out of context.
For his part, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said in his daily press conference that “it was a misinterpretation, or an expression that perhaps was not understood as it should have been.” Furthermore, he said about Mondino that “discrimination is not in his soul.”
Mondino has extensive experience in the private sector in risk assessment and market analysis. The chancellor position is the first he has held in the public sector.
Mondino’s tour in China was closely followed, among other topics, by a possible negotiation regarding the upcoming maturities that Argentina must face for the currency swap, a loan arising from an agreement between the central banks of both countries in 2009.
Although Milei, after taking office as president, moderated his campaign speech toward China, there is already a decline in commercial ties.
In March, China stopped being Argentina’s second trading partner, according to the latest Argentine trade report released by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec), a list led by Brazil. Now, second place now belongs to the European Union, while China is third.
