China in Latin America: March 2025

Trade

In her March 6 daily press conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government will review tariffs on Chinese imports, citing their impact on local industry. She linked cheap Chinese shoe and textile imports to rising violence in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, a shoe and textile manufacturing hub. Her remarks came just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump temporarily rescinded a 25 percent tariff on most Mexican goods. Days earlier, her administration announced that it would review its tariff on welding wire from China, and launched anti-dumping investigations into imports of hot-rolled steel from China and Vietnam, as well as certain aluminum products from China and the United States.

Peru’s National Society of Industries called on the government to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled carbon steel tubes from China, citing preliminary evidence of price discrimination and negative impacts on domestic producers.

China’s General Administration of Customs halted beef imports from six South American companies: three in Brazil, two in Argentina, and one in Uruguay. At least some reportedly failed to meet China’s registration requirements, according to the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries. The move comes as Beijing investigates last year’s record beef imports amid oversupply and domestic prices at multiyear lows. The investigation’s findings are expected later this year. Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay remain among China’s largest beef suppliers.

Diplomacy

Over twenty governments, including Brazil, Chile, and Colombia, elected Suriname’s Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin to lead the Organization of American States as secretary-general. China had openly backed Ramdin, who has expressed support for the “One China” policy and China’s growing role in Suriname’s development. Ramdin’s only opponent, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano—more skeptical of Chinese influence in the region—unexpectedly withdrew from the race on March 5, citing insufficient support for his candidacy.

Following Trump’s joint address to Congress on March 4, China’s Ambassador to Colombia posted on X: “In 1823, the U.S. launched the Monroe Doctrine against Latin America, raising its big stick. In 2025, the U.S. threatens Latin America, raising its big stick once again. Predators have never changed, but Latin America has—and it is no longer alone.”

Asked during China’s Two Sessions about U.S. ambitions for the Panama Canal, Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that Latin American countries “want independence and autonomy, not the Monroe Doctrine.” He added that China has “no geopolitical calculations” in Latin America: “The region is no one’s backyard.”

China’s Ambassador to Nicaragua welcomed the country’s February constitutional reform, which named current President Daniel Ortega’s wife as copresident, extended both of their terms from five years to six, and consolidated their power over the press, the Catholic Church, and civil society.

Infrastructure

An investment group led by BlackRock signed a memorandum of understanding to buy CK Hutchison Holdings’ majority ownership of two ports at either end of the Panama Canal. Washington had claimed that Hong Kong–based Hutchison could provide a backdoor for China to exploit the canal to the United States’ detriment. The acquisition also includes port operations in Mexico and the Bahamas.

The sale reportedly frustrated Chinese President Xi Jinping, in part because CK Hutchison moved forward without prior approval from Chinese authorities. Though the deal does not require their sign-off, Xi’s government has launched a multiagency review of the deal for potential security or antitrust violations. A senior-level delegation has also flown to Panama to meet with political leaders.

Ecuador’s government awarded and subsequently terminated a contract to develop the country’s most productive oilfield with a consortium led by Chinese state–owned Sinopec, arguing the consortium failed to disburse a $1.5 billion premium. China’s Embassy in Ecuador expressed hope that the parties would continue the project “based on mutual benefit.”

Honduras’ National Electric Power Company awarded a contract to develop a battery energy storage system to a consortium comprising China’s Windey and Spain’s Equinsa. The system should begin operations in late 2025.

Nicaragua’s Ministry of Energy and Mines granted Chinese company Brother Metal S.A. a twenty-five-year open-pit mining concession to extract metals and nonmetallic minerals near the Honduran border. Since 2023, the Ortega administration has granted seventeen mining concessions to Chinese companies.

Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it is reviewing a 2016 agreement between China’s National Astronomical Observatory (NAOC) and a private Chilean university to build a joint astronomical observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert. In December, Newsweek reported that, as part of the agreement, the NAOC could exclude Chileans from part of the site. The U.S. State Department expressed concern shortly thereafter regarding the project’s potential dual-use capabilities, including satellite monitoring, intelligence gathering, and military space operation support.

Investments

China’s commerce ministry has delayed approval for BYD’s planned electric vehicle (EV) factory in Mexico, citing concerns that Mexico could leak BYD’s smart car technology to the United States.

Carlos Tejada, deputy general manager of Cosco Shipping Ports Chancay Peru—a subsidiary of Hong Kong–based Cosco—said that the Chinese government is preparing a surge of investment around Peru’s Chancay megaport, which opened in November 2024. Among the potential projects he mentioned are a BYD electric vehicle assembly plant, a transformer manufacturing facility, and a Huawei regional logistics hub. Cosco’s conditions for these investments include the creation of a Private Special Economic Zone (ZEEP) in Chancay, which would give companies preferential tax rates and streamlined customs procedures. A bill establishing the ZEEP awaits congressional ratification but Peru’s finance minister recently announced a pilot program that would apply a 0 percent income tax to companies operating in both Chancay and Callao, Peru’s largest port.

El País reported that China Petroleum might be interested in taking over Chevron’s operations in Venezuela, should Trump choose not to extend Chevron’s license to pump there. In the meantime, Venezuela is increasing its oil exports to China to the highest level in nearly two years.

Security

China’s State Council Information Office released a white paper titled “Controlling Fentanyl-Related Substances: China’s Contribution,” describing China’s efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals to Mexico.