Just like Jair Bolsonaro did before he was elected president of Brazil in 2018, Javier Milei, Argentina’s newly inaugurated head of state, promised more than once and in different campaign rallies that under his watch, the country would never be friends with “communist China.”
As part of the far-right narrative playbook, these empty promises are growing old like milk. Especially as many of these leaders dream of becoming presidents of countries that have important economic relations with the Chinese — which isn’t a coincidence, since China is a major global trading player.
As expected, Mr. Milei changed his tune shortly after defeating Sergio Massa in November. At first, he thanked the Xi Jinping administration for its kind compliments and sent his “most sincere wishes for the well-being of the Chinese people.”
But the relationship has evolved further. The new president even said that Buenos Aires would continue to firmly support the one-China principle and not recognize Taiwan. This week, however, the new government in Argentina even sent a letter to Beijing asking it to renew a currency swap line to help the country pay its debts. And more economic pleas may come.
All in all, this could set the tone for the Milei-Xi relationship for the next four years, given that Argentina’s financial crisis won’t be solved overnight and China will remain one of Buenos Aires’ most important trading partners for a long time to come.
After all, real life is very different from a campaign speech.
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