Javier Milei exercises presidential diplomacy. This is why he will resume his flights abroad, going to the CPAC summit in Florida next week where he will meet Donald Trump, while the foreign minister will work for a photo with Xi Jinping.
The President surprised everyone during his interview with Susana Giménez a few weeks ago, when he praised the Chinese regime, after insulting it several times during the campaign.
In the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we are working in favor of the G20. The next meeting of world leaders. This is indeed one of the challenges that the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gerardo Werthein, had to quickly take up after the traumatic departure of Mondino.
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The idea running through the heads of the main government figures is that Milei could have a photo with the Chinese president, as a way of strengthening the bilateral relationship which had started tense, but which eased as the months passed and the need of Argentina's financial institutions. The fact is that reaching a summit with the leader of the world's second largest economy does not happen overnight. Much less, after offending them.
China is Argentina's second largest trading partner and main destination for primary exports, a key source of foreign exchange. But in addition, Milei has received requests from many leaders to be able to advance agreements with the Asian giant, particularly interested in energy and mines.
There is a third key issue: the currency swap which has the possibility of being extended and which is to be canceled in June 2026 the almost 5 billion dollars renewed in June of this year.
The summit of the twenty largest economies in the world, to which other countries are also invited, will take place on November 18 in Rio de Janeiro, where Lula Da Silva will be the host.
At Casa Rosada, they acknowledge working towards rapprochement with China, even if they try to attenuate the president's change in speech. China is a very interesting trading partner because it does not demand anything, it only asks that it not be disturbed, declared the President.
At the same time, they recognize that they are not working to have a photo or a meeting with Lula, although Brazil is Argentina's main trading partner. An irreconcilable bond?
Milei will have a busy international schedule in the coming weeks. On the 14th and 15th of this month, he will travel to Palm Beach, the city where the American president-elect resides. At Casa Rosada we don't know if there will be a meeting between the two, but we hope so.
Specifically, Milei will speak at CPAC's year-end reunion, even though she was unable to connect with Trump by phone following last Tuesday's victory.
However, his participation in next week's summit is read at Casa Rosada as an approach by the future occupant of the White House towards Milei, which could be decisive given the delicate financial situation between Argentina and the IMF.
The Argentine president and his government will have the difficult task of finding a balance between the two countries that aspire to global hegemony. For Trump, the real enemy of the United States is China.
