According to recent statements by the South China Morning Post newspaper, Argentina and China would be in preliminary talks about a possible state visit by Argentine President Javier Milei to Beijing. Although sources affirm that there is still no date or agenda, Milei’s spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, denied the information and highlighted that “not only is there no date, there is nothing, absolutely nothing confirmed.”
Despite Adorni’s comments that neither party had requested a bilateral meeting, he said he did not rule out the possibility of a trip and meeting between the two leaders. The truth is that talks about Milei’s visit to China began after Wednesday’s meeting between Wang Wei, China’s ambassador in Buenos Aires, and Guillermo Francos, Argentina’s chief of staff.
At this meeting, Beijing agreed to extend the active part of a currency exchange agreement with Buenos Aires, which was considered essential for Argentina to continue meeting its obligations with the International Monetary Fund. So much so that that same Wednesday, the Argentine Central Bank declared that the agreements, estimated at 5 billion dollars, would remain in force until July 2026.
Economic need?
Yesterday, the Office of the President of the Nation stated in a statement that it thanks the People’s Republic of China for the trust placed in the government’s economic plan, highlighting that the renewal of the swap is a relief for the financial system and contributes to the cleaning up the balance sheet of the Central Bank. Furthermore, he stressed that the respectful bond between both countries is fundamental for the commercial development and prosperity of both nations.
Although the Chinese embassy in Buenos Aires did not respond to requests for comment from the press, analysts stated that A meeting between Milei and his Chinese counterpart would be unthinkable, unless there was no other alternative in economic and swap terms. It should be noted that in his election campaign period, Milei showed a very anti-China platform where he often equated the Asian giant with autocratic governments such as Cuba and North Korea, calling Xi Jinping a “murderer.”
Regarding the latter, Milei also discredited China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which Argentina joined in 2022 during the presidency of Alberto Fernández. At the same time, it also froze negotiations to build a nuclear power plant in partnership with Beijing and ordered an inspection of the Far Space Station, a space base in southern Argentina operated by China under an agreement signed in 2012 by the then president Cristina Kirchner and valid until 2062.
You may be interested in: Argentina present at the G7 – Milei’s closeness with Meloni and his meetings with leaders
