Xi slams ‘bullying’ in veiled swipe at US as Beijing hosts Latin America leaders

Beijing - Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on May 13 to deepen ties with Latin America and condemned “bullying” in a thinly veiled swipe at the US, as he addressed regional leaders in Beijing.

Leaders and officials from Latin America and the Caribbean have descended on the Chinese capital for the

China-Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum.

Beijing has stepped up economic and political cooperation with Latin American nations in recent years and has urged a united front against US President Donald Trump’s recent maelstrom of tariffs.

Latin America has emerged as a key battleground in Mr Trump’s confrontation with China, and the region is coming under pressure from Washington to choose a side.

Addressing the leaders on May 13, Mr Xi hailed China’s burgeoning ties with the region.

“Although China lies far from the Latin American and Caribbean region, the two sides have a time-honoured history of friendly exchanges,” he said at the opening ceremony, likening the summit to a “great, sturdy tree”.

“Only through unity and cooperation can countries safeguard global peace and stability and promote worldwide development and prosperity,” Mr Xi said.

He pledged US$9.2 billion (S$12 billion) in credit towards “development” for the region, part of a broad set of initiatives aimed at deepening cooperation, including on infrastructure and clean energy.

Beijing will also work with the region in counter-terrorism and fighting transnational organised crime, Mr Xi said, as well as enhancing exchanges such as scholarships and training programmes.

Mr Xi’s remarks come a day after the US and China announced a deal to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, an outcome Mr Trump dubbed a “total reset”.

Under that arrangement, the US agreed to lower its tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 per cent while China will reduce its own to 10 per cent.

The deal marked a major de-escalation of a gruelling trade war between the world’s two largest economies which threw global markets into turmoil.

Xi warns of risks

Mr Xi told delegates: “There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars.”

“Bullying and hegemony will lead only to self-isolation,” the Chinese leader warned.

“The world today is undergoing accelerated transformations unseen in a century, with multiple risks intertwined and overlapping,” Mr Xi said.

Among notable attendees at the forum is Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived in Beijing on May 10 for a five-day state visit.

Also present is Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who last week said he intends to sign an accord to join Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) during his visit. He called for “dialogue between civilisations” that took into account the interests of the region.

“A horizontal dialogue, rather than a vertical one, can be free of authoritarianism, of imperialism, of the give and take between civilisations,” he said.

Two-thirds of Latin American countries have joined Beijing’s trillion-dollar BRI infrastructure programme, and China has surpassed the US as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru and Chile, among others. AFP