The official visit of Colombian President Gustavo Petro to China in October 2023 was not only marked by diplomatic and economic agreements, but also by an uncomfortable episode that, according to recent revelations, left the president in the center of the controversy.
The former chancellor Álvaro Leyva, in a new letter published on May 6, reported details that show the tension lived during the trip, Noting that Petro would have bothered after not being able to include the issue of the Bogotá Metro on the agendaan issue that had already been discarded by Chinese diplomats.
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Petro arrived in Beijing on October 24, 2023, invited by President Xi Jinping, with the purpose of “strengthening bilateral relations and drawing a plan for its growth in a ‘new era’”, as the Colombian Foreign Ministry reported.
However, Petro insisted on addressing the possibility of modifying the layout of the first line of the Bogotá Metro, despite the previous warnings of the China Embassy in Colombia, which had made it clear that it was not a state issue.
According to Leyva, during the official banquet in honor of the Colombian delegation, Petro – located to the right of Xi Jinping – chose to keep absolute silence during the more than two hours that the evening lasted.
“He ignored it. As if he was not present,” Leyva wrote in his letter, highlighting that he touched himself to assume the role of interlocutor, Talking with XI about family, political and commercial issues while parading ten traditional dishes of Chinese cuisine.
Leyva did not hesitate to qualify Petro’s behavior as “stubborn” and “inflexible”, and said that the president “was ridiculous” for failing to impose the issue of the subway on the agenda.
Although Chinese diplomats reiterated that the Bogotá Metro was a local matter, Petro had expressed optimism days before, saying that he would seek “collaboration to transform transport in Colombia towards ferrous and electrical systems.”
-However, neither in the joint declaration signed in the Grand Hall of the People, nor in the agreements reached, focused on commerce, digital economy, green development and telecommunications, some mention was included to the Bogota project.
Despite Petro’s displacement at the official banquet since the Bogotá Metro failed to sneak into the agenda, the visit to China left results on other fronts. China and Colombia announced the establishment of a “strategic association” after the meeting between Xi Jinping and Petro in the Grand Palace of the Peoplewith promises of cooperation in commerce, digital economy, clean energy and culture.
The Chinese government, meanwhile, did not miss the opportunity to highlight the 43 years of bilateral relationship and present its own diplomatic success narrative.
Xi Jinping stressed the resilience of the links between the two countries and made it clear that the modernization of China and its global role do not need to be overshadowed by local demands such as those of the Colombian president.
The Chinese leader invited Colombia to join the initiative of the Strip and the Route, opened the doors to the bovine meat trade and extended proposals to increase investments in infrastructure and renewable energy. Besides, It was agreed to deepen cultural, educational and scientific exchanges, as well as support Chinese global initiatives in terms of safety and development.
Meanwhile, Petro tried to align with this agenda, inviting Chinese companies to invest in Colombia and showing interest in participating in Beijing’s flagship projects.
He even spoke of collaborating on peace issues, climate change and conflict in the Middle East, but the truth is that the true visible beneficiaries of the meeting were China’s economic and geopolitical interests.
As for the subway, a word was stamped in the protocols or the joint declaration, confirming that, despite Petro’s insistence, China was never willing to open that chapter on the visit.
The Colombian president, between gestures of discomfort and calculated silences, ended up yielding space to an agenda that, ultimately, left him as mere spectator of the diplomatic achievements of his counterpart.
