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Igor Patrick

Argentina and China are in early talks over a potential visit by President Javier Milei to Beijing, although neither a date nor an agenda has been finalised, sources familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post on Friday.
The news comes a day after local media in the South American country reported on the visit, citing July 4 as a tentative date for the trip.
The reports were subsequently denied by Milei’s spokesman, Manuel Adorni, who told reporters: “Not only is there no date, there is nothing, absolutely nothing confirmed.”
Adorni said neither side had requested a bilateral meeting between Milei and Chinese President Xi Jinping. But he noted that did not rule out the possibility of a trip and meeting between the two leaders.

Reports of the visit surfaced in Argentine media a day after Beijing agreed to extend the activated part of a renminbi currency-swap agreement with Buenos Aires, the latest move in a tumultuous period for Sino-Argentine relations.
Before his election last November, Milei campaigned on a highly anti-China platform that often equated China with other autocratic governments including Cuba and North Korea and branded Xi an “assassin”.
The currency-swap agreement was widely seen as essential for the South American country to continue honouring its obligations to the International Monetary Fund.
On Wednesday, the Argentine Central Bank stated that the agreements, estimated at US$5 billion, would remain in force until July 2026.
Talk of a visit to Beijing by Milei was understood to have begun after a meeting on Wednesday between Wang Wei, China’s ambassador to Buenos Aires, and Guillermo Francos, Argentina’s chief cabinet minister.
A few hours after the meeting, Beijing gave the green light for the swaps to be renewed.

Patricio Giusto of the Sino-Argentine Observatory in Buenos Aires said a Xi-Milei meeting could be a stipulation for China to release the swaps, handing Beijing a political victory.
“He wouldn’t travel to China if there was another alternative,” said Giusto of the Argentine leader.
“I think if he ends up travelling it’s because there is no other option. If he had one, he would return all the swaps, but Milei knows he can’t do that.”
The Chinese embassy in Buenos Aires has yet to respond to the Post’s request for comment.
A visit to the Chinese capital would give Beijing an opportunity to “show off in front of” the Argentine president, Giusto added, “forcing him to see that Chinese development is not comparable to these other countries”.
He also believed China would likely expect Milei during a visit to publicly reaffirm Argentina’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, the central government’s trade and economic integration network.


The South American country joined the Chinese programme in 2022 when then-president Alberto Fernandez travelled to the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Yet Giusto predicted a trip would not address sensitive issues like Chinese involvement in critical infrastructure projects that have angered the US in recent years.
Since taking office last year, Milei has frozen negotiations to build a nuclear power plant in partnership with Beijing and refused to buy Chinese fighter jets in favour of second-hand American models sold by Denmark.
In May, he ordered an inspection of Espacio Lejano Station, a space base in southern Argentina operated by China under an agreement signed in 2012 by then-president Cristina Kirchner and valid until 2062.
Washington has frequently accused Beijing of stationing People’s Liberation Army officials there.
“Under Milei, Argentina will not collaborate with China on strategic projects, nor will there be any military cooperation,” Giusto said. “This has already been ruled out of the agenda.”
“And China is aware of this. They will not try to exert pressure because that is a losing battle and could jeopardise other things they can achieve.”
A visit, if it happened, could prove an opportunity to revitalise trade between the two countries, Giusto added.
Since Milei’s inauguration last December, China has fallen from being Argentina’s second to fourth-largest trading partner, according to reports on the country’s trade published by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses.


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Argentina

China and Argentina in early talks over Javier Milei’s possible visit to Beijing: sources

Argentine President Javier Milei smiles before posing for a group photo with Group of 7 heads of state in Italy on Friday. Photo: EPA/EFE

Talk of a possible meeting between Milei and Chinese President Xi Jinping began after Beijing’s ambassador to Buenos Aires met with Argentina’s chief cabinet minister on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

An image posted on the X account belonging to Guillermo Francos, Argentina’s chief cabinet minister (right), after he met Wang Wei, China’s ambassador to the country (left), in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Photo: X

China overlooks Milei’s rhetoric, hands Argentina US$35 billion lifeline

Argentina’s central bank says the agreement with China is necessary to manage balance of payment flows. Photo: Reuters

Argentina’s President Javier Milei. Photo: Reuters

Argentine court orders Milei government to distribute held-up food aid

A woman sells sandwiches on the sidelines of a protest against food scarcity at soup kitchens in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo: AP

Argentina’s President Javier Milei. Photo: AFP

Argentina’s Milei keeps insults flying as Spain withdraws its ambassador

Argentinian’s President Javier Milei’s called the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ‘corrupt’. Photo: AFP

Argentina’s President Javier Milei delivering a speech in Madrid on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Spain’s embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo: AFP

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his wife Begona Gomez. File photo: AFP

Argentina angry after Spain accuses President Javier Milei of drug use

Argentina’s President Javier Milei. Photo: AP

Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente. Photo: EPA-EFE

Argentinian foreign minister’s visit to China may signal effort to stabilise ties after President Javier Milei’s pivot to US

Argentina’s President Javier Milei had threatened to cut ties, but the end of a credit swap with China could deepen his country’s economic woes. Photo: Reuters 

Tens of thousands of Argentine university students took to the streets on Tuesday to protest cuts to higher public education, research and science under budget-slashing new president Javier Milei. Photo: AFP

Argentina’s Foreign Minister Diana Mondino may be looking to extend a credit swap with China, according to one analyst. Photo: AFP

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No date or agenda yet, but meeting with Xi Jinping could still happen as two sides assess what they could gain from a trip by the new leader


No date or agenda yet, but meeting with Xi Jinping could still happen as two sides assess what they could gain from a trip by the new leader.
