Diana Mondino, the foreign minister of Argentina, concluded her first trip to China on Wednesday representing the libertarian government of President Javier Milei, declaring that Buenos Aires retains a “friendly” policy towards Beijing despite Milei’s campaign promises to distance his country from the Communist Party.
“No matter how Argentina’s internal political situation changes, its friendly policy toward China will not change,” Mondino reportedly told her Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during a meeting on Tuesday.
Mondino spent her four days in the country meeting with both regime-affiliated business leaders – including representatives from notorious regime corporations such as Huawei and Xiaomi – and Communist Party officials, reportedly seeking greater investment in Argentina. Argentina is currently experiencing the worst financial crisis of its history, a product of two decades of socialist rule prior to Milei’s victory in the 2023 presidential election.
Milei, an economist by trade, identifies as a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist who aggressively opposes communism and all forms of what he calls left-wing “collectivism.” On China, presidential candidate Milei declared the genocidal regime “murderous” and promised not to pursue ties with the country.
“I would not promote relations with communists – not with Cuba, not with Venezuela, not with North Korea, not with Nicaragua, not with China,” Milei said in an interview with Bloomberg News in August.
Mondino adopted a much more conciliary tone in Beijing, stating that Argentina would “pursue an open policy and welcomed Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Argentina,” according to the South China Morning Post. Mondino insisted that commitments made with China during prior socialist administrations would remain in vigor, including projects begun under China’s predatory Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
“Mondino noted that no matter how Argentina’s internal political situation changes, its friendly policy toward China will not change,” the Chinese state-run CGTN outlet reported. “Argentina adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to continue to promote cooperation in infrastructure construction, trade, investment, finance, tourism, space, Antarctica, ocean and environmental protection under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, she said.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina Diana Mondino in Beijing, capital of China, April 30, 2024. (Ding Haitao/Xinhua via Getty)
The “one-China principle” is the false claim that the nation of Taiwan does not exist and is, rather, a province of China hijacked by a “separatist” group. In reality, the “separatists” are the legitimate, democratically elected government of Taiwan, a sovereign nation with no ties to the Communist Party.
The government of Taiwan congratulated Milei on his presidential victory in November.
Like Chinese media, the Argentine Foreign Ministry celebrated Mondino’s talks with Wang as “fruitful” as well as “frank and open,” where “agreements were highlighted and differences were respected.” The Foreign Ministry quoted Mondino as stating that Argentina is hoping to “strengthen and expand cooperation in commerce, investment, energy, infrastructure, and tourism.”
“Argentina changed its government, but Argentina fulfills its contracts, fulfills its commitments,” Mondino said.
The Foreign Ministry noted that, in addition to Wang, Mondino met with representatives of some of China’s largest corporations, including the technology companies Huawei and ZTE – banned in the United States due to national security concerns. The companies have also been implicated in widespread human rights abuses around the world, including the ongoing Uyghur genocide. The meetings were part of an “intense activity for the promotion of Argentine exports in economic and commercial fora.”
Under the government of Milei’s predecessor Alberto Fernández, Argentina took unprecedented steps towards granting China greater influence within its borders, most prominently with the joining of the BRI in 2022. Later that year, Fernández announced that China agreed to a $5 billion currency swap deal, allegedly to keep the collapsing Argentine economy afloat.
Milei campaigned firmly on distancing Argentina from China and improving relations with America and Israel.
“Not only would I not do business with China; I won’t do business with any communist,” Milei told Tucker Carlson in an interview in September. “I am a defender of freedom, peace, and democracy. Communists have no place there. The Chinese have no place there. [Russian strongman Vladimir] Putin has no place there. Let’s go further: [socialist Brazilian President] Lula [da Silva] has no place there.”
Milei later clarified that he did not believe the government should interfere in commerce at all, and so would not ban private entities from collaborating with China, but he would “not make strategic alliances in geopolitical terms with people who do not respect freedom.”
“Tomorrow, if you [as a private company] want to do trade with China, do it, it is not my problem. Do it,” he said.
Milei took a massive step in distancing Argentina from China by declining an invitation in late 2023 to join BRICS, a an economic and political bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. China is the most influential member of BRICS, and led the expansion of the group to now include Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Saudi Arabia also accepted an invitation but has reportedly not concluded the procedures necessary to join.
The Chinese government politely congratulated Milei on his election victory and inauguration in late 2023. Its state media arms dismissed his campaign promises as rhetoric, comparing him to China-friendly “conservative” former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
“Previously, some people intentionally hyped up the claim that Argentina would ‘decouple’ from China and Brazil, but even some rational Western experts were not optimistic about this gloating,” an article published in the Global Times in November read. “In fact, although the political spectrum of Latin American countries swinging between left and right has not fundamentally changed, the relationship between China and Latin American countries has shown a trend of increasing stability in recent years.”
“Brazil, Argentina’s neighboring country, had a similar experience during the presidency of former president Jair Bolsonaro,” it continued. “This is because China’s pragmatic cooperation with Latin American countries, including Argentina and Brazil, has brought tangible benefits to the people of both sides.”