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China-Latin America relations

China-Latin America relations
News, features and updates on Beijing's relations with various Latin American nations, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela and more.
The Panama-flagged cargo ship HMM Namu, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on January 5. Beijing has defended its inspections as lawful and aimed at protecting navigation and the marine environment. Photo: Handout via Reuters
Hong Kong

China rejects US, Panamanian claims of ‘weaponising’ ship inspections

Beijing cites data showing Panama-flagged vessels suffered multiple serious accidents in Chinese waters this year.

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Germany

A year into Trump’s tariffs, Brazil trades less with US and more with China

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United States

Why Peru wants to shift its relationship with China beyond raw mineral supplies

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US-China relations

America’s first sphere of influence becomes the test of its power at 250

Two centuries after the Monroe Doctrine, China is testing US influence in the hemisphere where it first projected power.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
United States

Aid for Venezuela, China-Colombia ties: 7 Latin America relations reads

From Argentina’s move towards Beijing to Lula’s beef deal, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in June 2026.

Venezuela

‘Venezuela is our home’: Chinese Venezuelans rally after earthquakes

Merchants across the country transformed shops, warehouses and community networks into a relief effort after the deadliest quakes in decades.

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Venezuela

China pledges extra US$14.7 million in earthquake relief to Venezuela

Beijing is also providing satellite images of the affected areas, as Chinese businesses and overseas communities in the country pitch in.

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People sift through donated clothes on a street in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Sunday, after two devastating earthquakes struck the region. Photo: Reuters
Venezuelan crisis

In Venezuela, China’s oil-for-loan deals run into huge US-led debt restructuring

Beijing’s influence in Caracas seen fading, with Washington controlling Venezuela’s oil revenues and debt overhaul, potentially triggering a stand-off.

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European Union

EU pitches Brazil a ‘more beneficial’ rare earths deal than US or China

EU’s Jozef Sikela promises refining investment and technology transfer, in a race for Brazilian minerals that the US and China already lead.

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Australia

US targets Cuba mining sector to block use of China-linked supply chains

Washington revealed sanctions on foreign-backed mining ventures on Tuesday, which Havana slammed for being ‘dishonest and mendacious’.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on Tuesday against Cuba's state-owned mining company GeoMinera, which oversees foreign-backed mining ventures. Photo: AP
Colombia

China extends hand to Colombia’s Trump-backed president-elect

Beijing offers to work with de la Espriella in spite of his firm’s legal clash over the metro with a Chinese group and his US realignment vow.

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Abelardo de la Espriella speaks to supporters from behind bullet-proof glass after preliminary results showed him narrowly winning Colombia’s presidential run-off election. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Latin America and Europe are bystanders in the US-China AI race: Lula adviser

Brazil’s Celso Amorim tells a Rio conference the Global South must answer via Brics, casting rare earths and data as matters of sovereignty.

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Mainland China

Argentina edges back to China on currency swap despite US pressure

Buenos Aires denies negotiating renewal, but the US$19 billion swap expires August 6, and Argentine reports say talks are already advancing.

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SCMP Exclusives

Exclusive | Huawei considering deploying Ascend AI chips in Latin America, cloud chief says

Ascend processors are central to Beijing’s effort to build a self-reliant AI industry and reduce dependence on US technology.

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Mark Chen, president of Huawei Cloud Latin America, speaks at Web Summit Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Paul Devlin/Web Summit via Sportsfile
Mainland China

US targets Cuba oil giant as Beijing and Havana deepen party ties

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces sanctions on Union Cuba-Petroleo after Havana and Beijing hold positive bilateral talks.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces sanctions on Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company Union Cuba-Petroleo on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Nvidia denies Latin America role in China chip smuggling

Suspicious bulk orders from unfamiliar countries are screened out, Nvidia’s regional chief says, as Chinese capital courts Brazil.

US-China relations

Trump urged to press Xi on Chinese money laundering tied to Mexican cartels

Congressional hearing witnesses encourage US president to tackle alleged fentanyl supply chain crisis linked to Chinese money laundering.

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US-China relations

The new Panama? Why Nicaragua could be next front in US-China influence battle

Beijing could move to build an alternative to the Panama Canal in Nicaragua, before the US gets involved, scholar warns.

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A vessel transits the Panama Canal. China could move to build a rival waterway in Nicaragua, as it looks to counter pressure from the United States. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

China says US ‘invented’ terrorism charges to justify Cuba blockade

Foreign ministry rebutted Marco Rubio’s claim that Cuba sponsors terrorism and demanded an end to US sanctions on the island.

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Americas and the Caribbean

Opinion | China’s economic inroads in Latin America are hitting political walls

China’s economic gains in the Americas are real, but Donald Trump’s return to the White House shows that political success is another story.

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Brazil

‘I will sell to someone else’: Brazil’s Lula hits back at US after China beef win

The president also branded Rubio a ‘frustrated Latino’ and vowed Brazil would ‘not be treated as an insignificant little republic’ by the US.

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Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks in Brasília as trade tensions with the US escalate. Photo: Reuters
European Union

China opens door to all Brazilian beef, then slams it with a 55% surtax

Recognition lifts a long-standing sanitary barrier, but an import quota in force since January caps how far Brazilian beef sales can grow.

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A butcher weighs meat at a butcher shop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: AFP
Mainland China

US’ Cuba-China fears, Panama pressure: Latin America relations reads

From Argentina’s shrinking China lifeline to the US’ Cuba worries, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in May 2026.

Brazil

China urges Brazil to jointly repel ‘external challenges’ as ties deepen

Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira meets Wang Yi and Han Zheng as Brazil seeks key stable fertiliser supply amid US-Iran conflict.

Panama

Panama rejects US pressure claims as it seeks to ease China tensions

Panamanian president looks to defuse issues with Beijing as South American country attempts to renew key China maritime agreement.

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Containers sit at the Balboa terminal, formerly run by CK Hutchison’s Panama Ports, after the Panama government ordered the occupation of the port following a court ruling that the concession was unconstitutional. Photo: AP
Cuba

As US pressures Cuba, Beijing holds talks with Havana on agriculture

Chinese support includes rice shipments and diplomatic backing as Trump administration ramps up sanctions and rhetoric.

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A view of Havana as tensions between Cuba and the United States continue to escalate. Photo: AP
Austria

Panama encourages dialogue at UN as canal tensions with China simmer

Panama’s foreign minister uses UN speech to help defuse tension after deterioration in Panama-China relations due to canal dispute.

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Cuba

Cuba clash, Putin visits Beijing, Xi may go to North Korea

This week: China and the US trade barbs over Cuba, Putin fails to get gas pipeline deal at Xi summit, and retail sales growth hits three-year low. Next week: Xi may travel to North Korea, defence officials gather for Shangri-La Dialogue, new airport terminal and more.

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