But didn't Milei change his tune on China?
Yes, Argentina needs China.
China trade surge poses challenge for Trump's South America influence
One of the things during President Milei's campaign that we said he was totally wrong about was on China. He came to office in late 2023 slamming China as a communist "assassin" and threatening to weaken ties with China.
Instead, exports to China including soy and lithium jumped 15% in his first year in office.
Driven by commodities giants Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile, South America's exports to China have more than doubled in the past decade, while shipments to the USA have only inched up according to analysis of trade data from Reuters.
That's made China's huge market invaluable for regional leaders struggling with slow growth and high debt, and strengthened China's soft power in the region, even with governments not ideologically aligned.
Across South America, China's lead has widened, driven by grains and key electrification metals copper and lithium.
A decade ago, copper giant Peru's larger trade partner was the USA. Now it is China, by far. China gobbles up Peru's supply of copper and has built a massive port on the country's coast to turbo-charge bilateral trade.
Even accounting for Trump's bromance with Milei, China is the top market for Argentine soybeans and beef, while it bought almost 1/3 of Argentina's lithium exports last year.
President Milei did a complete U-Turn on China and they need China.
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