Argentina’s Milei plans China trip for 2026 as US pressures Buenos Aires to curb ties

Argentine President Javier Milei said he intends to travel to China in 2026, confirming the plan at a moment when the United States is stepping up pressure on Buenos Aires to scale back its relations with Beijing.\nMilei made the remarks in an interview with the local newspaper Clarin that was published on Sunday. Asked whether the trip was still on his schedule, he said it was and framed the visit as part of Argentina’s wider commercial agenda rather than a political signal.\n“We have a very good commercial relationship with China. And again, we have to try to trade with all the countries in the world. And everyone who wants to trade with us is welcome,” he said.\nThe comment reflects how much Milei’s stance towards China has changed since he burst into national politics.\nDuring the 2023 campaign, he labelled Beijing an authoritarian regime and said Argentina should sever state-to-state partnerships. After taking office, however, he softened his tone.\n\n\nBy late 2024, he was praising China as “a very interesting commercial partner”, publicly thanking Beijing for renewing the active US$5 billion tranche of Argentina’s long-standing US$18 billion bilateral currency swap, extending access to Chinese yuan liquidity through mid-2026.\nThat extension helped Buenos Aires avoid making billions in looming repayments that might have further depleted already thin foreign-exchange reserves, and eased pressure on a government juggling commitments under a new IMF Extended Fund Facility programme worth around US$20 billion to stabilise the economy.\nThat more pragmatic approach has irritated Washington. In April, Mauricio Claver-Carone, a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, warned that American support for Argentina’s IMF negotiations would depend on Buenos Aires dismantling a multibillion-dollar currency swap line with the People’s Bank of China.\nSwap agreements allow central banks to exchange currencies at preset rates, providing hard currency when reserves are tight. Argentina has relied on the renminbi component of its swap with China to convert into dollars and cover external payments. US officials argue the arrangement gives Beijing leverage over Argentina’s finances.\nTensions grew further later that year when the Argentine government temporarily suspended export taxes on soy, corn and wheat in a bid to boost foreign sales and capture dollars.\nChinese importers quickly bought 2.66 million tonnes of Argentine soybeans during the tax-free window, leaving American farmers sidelined during a key export period.\nChicago soybean futures fell as the orders became public, and a photographer captured Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reading a message complaining that Washington had bailed out Argentina only to watch Buenos Aires sell cheaper grain to China, making headlines in Argentina and exposing divisions inside the Trump cabinet.\nDespite the diplomatic friction, Chinese companies have continued to expand their presence in Argentina while Milei’s government has eased rules in ways seen as favourable to Beijing.\nTrade between the two countries remains significant: in 2024 bilateral merchandise flows were around US$16.35 billion, with China one of Argentina’s top partners on both the export and import sides, and Argentine shipments to China focused on key agricultural commodities.\n\n\nIn August, China’s Ganfeng Lithium signed a joint venture with Switzerland-based Lithium Argentina to unify three brine deposits in the province of Salta into a single operation.\nThe project aims to produce the equivalent of 150,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year, reinforcing China’s central role in battery supply chains and strengthening Argentina’s position as a key source of lithium for electric vehicles and energy storage.\nIn the automotive sector, Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD registered a local unit authorised to import, sell and potentially manufacture cars, batteries and components. The paperwork does not confirm production, but officials and analysts said at the time that the move could set the stage for the company’s second vehicle factory in Latin America after Brazil.\nAt the same time, the government eased visa requirements for Chinese nationals holding valid US visas, allowing them to enter Argentina for tourism or business without applying for an Argentine visa.\nPressed during the Clarin interview on whether deepening ties with China might provoke Trump or contradict the new US national security strategy, which calls for discouraging Chinese influence in Latin America, Milei declined to engage directly, drawing a clear line between economic relations and strategic alignments.\n“That is not linked to commercial matters. It is linked to geopolitics, which is a different tune,” he said.\n“We are allies of the United States and Israel. Then, let’s say, there are the geopolitical issues. Then there are the trade issues – and those will be addressed.”\n