China's Xi slams 'bullying' as Beijing hosts LatAm leaders

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed Tuesday to deepen ties with Latin America and condemned “bullying” in a thinly veiled swipe at the United States, as he addressed regional leaders in Beijing.

Leaders and officials from Latin America and the Caribbean have descended on the Chinese capital for the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum.

Beijing has stepped up economic and political cooperation with Latin American nations in recent years and has urged a united front against US President Donald Trump’s recent maelstrom of tariffs.

Latin America has emerged as a key battleground in Trump’s confrontation with China, and the region is coming under pressure from Washington to choose a side.

Addressing leaders on Tuesday, Xi hailed China’s burgeoning ties with the region.

“Although China lies far from the Latin American and Caribbean region, the two sides have a time-honoured history of friendly exchanges,” Xi told the opening ceremony, likening the summit to a “great, sturdy tree”.

“Only through unity and cooperation can countries safeguard global peace and stability and promote worldwide development and prosperity,” Xi said, pledging $9.2 billion in credit towards “development” for the region. He also warned of “bloc confrontation”.

Xi’s remarks come a day after the United States and China announced a deal to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, an outcome Trump dubbed a “total reset”.

Under that agreement, the United States agreed to lower its tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent while China will reduce its own to 10 percent.

The deal marked a major de-escalation of a gruelling trade war between the world’s two largest economies which threw global markets into turmoil.

Xi warns of ‘risks’

“There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars,” Xi said. “Bullying and hegemony will only lead to self-isolation,” the Chinese leader added.

“The world today is undergoing accelerated transformations unseen in a century, with multiple risks intertwined and overlapping,” Xi said.

Among notable attendees at the forum is Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived in Beijing on Saturday for a five-day state visit.

Also present is Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who last week said he intends to sign an accord to join Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative during his visit.

Two-thirds of Latin American countries have joined Beijing’s trillion-dollar BRI infrastructure programme, and China has surpassed the US as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru and Chile, among others.

Speaking at the forum, Petro called for “dialogue between civilizations” that took into account the interests of the region.

“A horizontal dialogue, rather than a vertical one, can be free of authoritarianism, of imperialism, of the give and take between civilizations,” he said.