The View | China’s Latin America strategy goes well beyond Venezuela and Panama

Name: Rubio says US to control Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely
Uploaded: 2026-02-24T08:30:09.000Z
Description: Rubio says US to control Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely

While recent events highlight the risks in volatile states, China’s position in Latin America is rooted in deep trade and investment links with the region’s largest economies

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A man on a motorcycle transports water bottles past pumpjacks, beside deteriorating oil infrastructure on the shores of Lake Maracaibo, in Cabimas, Venezuela on January 26. Photo: Reuters

Winston Mok

Published: 4:30pm, 24 Feb 2026Updated: 6:46pm, 24 Feb 2026

In the early days of 2026, there has been an unexpected turn in China’s global relations. Some US allies have started reaching out to China just as China faced complications in ties with some friendly countries in the Global South. The underlying cause for both trends is the Trump administration’s imperial behaviour.

With the dramatic abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and US President Donald Trump’s wish to control Venezuela’s oil, China’s economic stake in one of its closest friends in Latin America faces grave uncertainties. This is compounded by the recent ruling of Panama’s supreme court against CK Hutchison’s port concessions in the country.

In light of these events, how might China’s economic relationships with Latin America be framed? Should China scale back its involvement in the region?

While less central to China than Southeast Asia, Latin America has played a crucial role in China’s global trade and investment portfolio in the Global South. In 2024, China’s trade with Latin America stood at US$518.5 billion, more than half the level with Southeast Asia and 75 per cent higher than that with Africa. China is the largest trading partner of several South American countries and the second largest for Latin America as a whole.

From an investment perspective, Latin America is even more important. China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America has recovered significantly, from US$8.7 billion in 2023 to US$14.7 billion in 2024. While lower than the level in Southeast Asia, China made more than four times the direct investment in Latin America as in Africa in 2024.

The headlines about Venezuela should not be extrapolated to the continent as a whole. While China has been a key buyer of Venezuelan oil, trade with Caracas is only a minor component of China’s Latin American portfolio, representing only 1.3 per cent of China’s trade with the continent in 2024. While China was a key financial backer of Venezuela, its lending declined sharply after 2015.

Rubio says US to control Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}The View | China’s Latin America strategy goes well beyond Venezuela and Panama

The View | China’s Latin America strategy goes well beyond Venezuela and Panama