Alex Lo has been an SCMP columnist since 2012, commenting on China and international affairs.
When China’s trade with Latin America reached a record US$518.4 billion in 2024, it marked a fundamental shift in hemispheric economics. Beijing is now the largest bilateral creditor and second largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean, with President Xi Jinping pledging a new credit line of 66 billion yuan (US$9.2 billion) at the 2025 China-Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) forum.
Chinese investment has evolved from extractive industries towards clean energy and manufacturing, with electric vehicle production expanding across Brazil and Chinese-made vehicles capturing 57 per cent of Ecuador’s market by the first half of this year.
Washington’s response under President Donald Trump has not been subtle. Rather than competing economically, the administration has reverted to traditional gunboat diplomacy under the so-called Donroe Doctrine.
Washington has been employing outright imperialist methods that undermine international law and the sovereign interests of America’s neighbours in the region.
The January military raid on Caracas that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro exemplifies this approach. Operation Absolute Resolve killed about 80 people, including 32 Cuban security personnel, with no American casualties. Maduro is being put on a show trial in New York while the US has secured effective control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves through a deal granting Washington 55 per cent of output from 17 oilfields over 100 years. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who once denounced foreign colonialism, signed legislation privatising the energy sector – reversing two decades of socialist policy – under evident American pressure.
Washington doesn’t even bother to hide the true intention behind the violent regime change. The Pentagon is expected to take a direct stake in the parent of North American Blue Energy Partners, the private oil producer hand-picked by Washington for the deal.
