Xi Jinping tours Latin America

17.11.2016

During an official visit to Latin America, China’s leader Xi Jinping is going to visit Ecuador, Peru and Chile at the invitation of the heads of these states.

His objectives

The first visit will be to Ecuador, where for the first time in 36 years, the Chinese president will pay a visit, when diplomatic relations were established between two countries. Ecuador is highlighted to attract the largest volume of Chinese investment in Latin America, due to which many joint projects were implemented.

In Peru, Xi Jinping is going to take part in the presidential part of the APEC meeting, during which he is scheduled to meet not only with Peruvian president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, but also with a number of other leaders, including Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Chile also has a trade agreement with China, being thus the second largest trade partner of China.

All these facts show that Beijing is still trying to use the opportunity to create their own analog to the TPP. Despite the official denials of Moscow, this issue along with some others could be raised at the APEC summit, at least behind the scenes.

Context

The tour takes place in the background of China's economic expansion in Europe. In addition to European plans as infrastructure projects in the Baltic States, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the Sino-French investment fund and others, China continues to participate in the Central Asian economies and the Middle East, in particular, the expansion of the "New Silk Road".