China seeks a united front with Latin America in countering Trump’s trade war

Xi Jinping hugs Lula da Silva at the opening ceremony of the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum of China and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Beijing, yesterday

China is moving to strengthen its alliances with other countries as a counterweight to President Donald Trump’s trade war, presenting a united front with Latin American leaders a day after China and the U.S. agreed to a 90-day truce in their tariffs stalemate.

China’s leaders have positioned the world’s second-largest economy as a reliable trade and development partner, in contrast to the uncertainty and instability from Trump’s tariff hikes and other policies.

On Monday, Beijing and Washington announced their breakthrough on tariffs after weekend talks in Geneva, Switzerland, where they agreed to cut sky-high import duties on both sides for 90 days to allow for negotiations.

Still, Beijing’s ire over the trade war remains apparent. Speaking to officials from China and Latin America yesterday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing’s stance that nobody wins a trade war and that “bullying or hegemonism only leads to self-isolation.”

Having moved to defuse antagonisms with the U.S., Xi said China stands ready to “join hands” with Latin countries “in the face of seething undercurrents of pure political and bloc confrontation and the surging tide of unilateralism and protectionism.”

“There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars,” Xi said, reiterating a phrase China has used repeatedly when referring to Trump’s policies.

When Trump began raising tariffs on Chinese products during his first term in office, China retaliated by diversifying its purchases of key farm products, such as soybeans and beef, away from U.S. suppliers. Brazil and other Latin American countries have benefited from that strategy.

Also yesterday, the head of the World Trade Organization appealed to Japan to fight disruptions to world commerce from Trump’s fast-changing tariffs and other policies.

“Trade is facing very challenging times right now and it is quite difficult,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the Geneva-based WTO, told Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba while on a visit to Tokyo.

Japan, as “a champion of the multilateral trading system” must help maintain, strengthen and reform the WTO, the Japanese Foreign Ministry cited her as saying.

Japan is among many countries yet to reach a deal with the Trump administration on hikes to U.S. tariffs, including those on autos, steel and aluminium.

The WTO played a pivotal role in past decades as the U.S. and other major economies crusaded for the more open markets that facilitated the growth of global supply chains, many of which are anchored in China.

By dismantling many protectionist barriers to trade, it has aided the ascent of Japan and China, and many other countries, as export manufacturing hubs.

Since taking office for a second time, Trump has prioritized higher tariffs to try to reduce U.S. imports and compel companies to locate factories in the United States, doubling down on a trade war that he launched during his first term.

The realities of Trump’s global trade offensive overshadowed an initial burst of optimism over the China-U.S. deal among investors, as rallies in stocks and oil prices faded yesterday.

Speaking to the China-CELAC, or Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Forum, Xi, the Chinese leader, announced plans to build closer ties with Latin America through political, economic, academic and security exchanges.

He promised to boost imports from the region, to encourage Chinese companies to increase their investments, and said Beijing plans to expand cooperation in clean energy, 5G telecommunications and artificial intelligence. He also announced a new 66 billion yuan ($9.2 billion) credit line to support Latin American and Caribbean financing.

China’s trade with the region has been growing rapidly, exceeding $500 billion for the first time last year, as it imported more farm products such as soybeans and beef, energy resources such as crude oil, iron ore, and critical minerals.

Beijing’s investments in the region through Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, have included installing 5G networks and building ports and hydropower plants.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced Monday that his country would formally join the BRI – in a vote of confidence after several Chinese projects in Latin America hit snags in recent months.

In other pledges, Beijing plans to invite 300 members from Latin American political parties to China annually for the next three years and facilitate 3,500 government scholarships and various other types of exchanges.

Five Latin American countries will receive visa exemptions for travel to China, with more to follow, Xi said. It was not immediately clear which countries would become visa exempt. MDT/AP