Berg and other analysts argue that Trump’s protectionist measures – and the suspension of almost all US foreign aid – could push South American countries even closer to China, which has already overtaken the US as the region’s leading trading partner.
“The ambassador’s posts that day are an example of how nimble, reactive and quick the Chinese might be thinking in this era of rapid changes in US foreign policy,” said Ryan C Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
While Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro were engaged in a very public row over the deportation of migrants last month, China’s ambassador to Bogotá was enthusiastically tweeting that diplomatic relations between China and Colombia had reached their “best moment”.
“The US is going after its own allies,” said Carol Wise, professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC), pointing to additional tariffs Trump has threatened for Mexico and Canada.
Antonio José Pagán, a researcher at the Centre for Studies on China and the Asia-Pacific at the Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, said the increasing rapprochement between China and the region also raises the risk of growing dependent on Beijing.
