Trump's disdain for South American allies is China's gain
Category: World News
Via: bob-nelson • 2 weeks ago • 85 commentsBy: Tiago Rogero South America correspondent
The US is targeting its own allies and its withdrawal from the region has left a power vacuum for China to fill in
Trump seems to understand absolutely nothing about international affairs. That's not surprising: he's a Reality-TV personality, not a diplomat.
He only hears "advice" that agrees with his prejudices, so he's never corrected.
He doesn't know that China's economy has been bigger than America's for almost a decade.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Cris Bouroncle/AFP via Getty Images
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 Bogota was enthusiastically tweeting that diplomatic relations between China and Colombia had reached their "best moment".
After Petro refused to receive a plane from the US carrying handcuffed deported Colombians, Trump retaliated by doubling tariffs and revoking visas for Colombian government officials.
Petro was quickly forced to back down, but while tensions were still high, Beijing's ambassador, Zhu Jingyang, posted 38 tweets celebrating ties between China and Colombia, including photos and videos of a lunar new year celebration in Bogota.
"We are experiencing the best moment in our diplomatic relations," he wrote, linking to an interview he had given a local newspaper published a day earlier. Asked about the timing, Zhu said "it had nothing to do with what is happening today, and I do NOT have the magic to predict or anticipate", he posted, adding two laughing emojis.
"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).
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 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. "So really, do the math: if you're going after your friends, your friends will merge with your so-called enemies, right?" she said.
On Monday, the US president announced a new round of 25% tariffs on all foreign steel and aluminum. Brazil is the second-largest steel supplier to the US, behind only Canada.
In 2023, South American countries exported $91.2bn (£73.7bn) to the US, and double that amount to China, $181bn (£146.2bn). The US is still the largest trading partner for countries like Colombia and Ecuador, but 20 years ago, it was for all of them except Paraguay.
"The US has not had a policy for South America for several administrations, since Barack Obama took office [in 2009]," said Monica de Bolle, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "It was a very long period during which the US completely withdrew from the region, except for issues related to migration, Venezuela and drug trafficking … A vacuum was left that China has filled," she said.
For many analysts, the most significant symbol of China's current and future strategy for South America is the Chancay "megaport" in Peru, a $3.5bn project inaugurated by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, himself last November.
Last week, the Colombian government announced a new shipping route that will pass through Chancay. The Brazilian government has also reportedly admitted that, due to Trump's protectionist measures, it is fast-tracking the launch of its operations at the port - which would cut shipping times by 10 days compared with Atlantic routes.
The most significant immediate potential beneficiary, of course, will be the host country itself. "It puts Peru in a position that was unthinkable 10 years ago," said Wise.
But using the port could also draw unwanted attention to countries that have escaped Trump's tariff hikes so far. The US president's special envoy to Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, has already argued that any South American nation using Chancay should face additional tariffs of 60%.
"The US is demanding a level of loyalty, allegiance and respect that it squandered decades ago," said Wise. "I hope that, in time, these Latin American countries will be able to just say: 'Sorry, too bad, you know, a tariff is fine,' because they're selling so much to China."
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The port of Chancay is also an example of how the terms of the deal with China could change over time, Berg said. "Peru thought it was getting a Chinese-built port. Now it's ended up with a Chinese-owned and operated port [by the state-owned Cosco Shipping]," he said.
Antonio Jose Pagan, a researcher at the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at the Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, said the increasing rapprochement between China and the region also raises the risk of growing dependent on Beijing.
"But we must also not forget the agency of these countries," he said. "As they want to improve economically, what matters to them is being able to cooperate with both sides and not be forced to choose between one or the other.
"But this may be impossible if the rivalry between the United States and China continues to worsen."
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Who needs South America anyway?
Trump doesn't need allies he needs worshipers and flunkies
And he does not care. He apparently believes his own bullshit.
Who gratuitously damages international relationships? Who stupidly thinks that the USA is not dependent upon the rest of the planet? That we are entirely self-sufficient (and in perpetuity). The guy is nuts yet people continue to believe and follow him.
e doesn't know that China's economy has been bigger than America's for almost a decade.
China's population is aging and shrinking. It's a spent force. It will be dangerous for the next 10 years or so as the reality of this hits home and it tries to counter act it.
It's cutting internet cables in the Baltic sea. I'm sure our "we need CCP authoritarianism to replace messy democracy" crowd can tell us how that's actually america's fault and China is winning friends by acting belligerently.
I grew up in an era, and I will always be, better dead than red. Extension of which is easily applied to China.
Easily.
a, and I will always be, better dead than red
Sadly, there's always been a portion of the left that admires left wing authoritarianism. look at Walter Duranty of the New York Times winning a Pulitzer for describing Soviet Russia as a paradise as opposed to the USA while Stalin was starving millions to death. No matter how many they kill or starve or how much havoc they cause internationally, left wing authoritarians will always have cheerleaders in the states.
It doesn't matter how many trillions we've spent on foreign charity. How many millions of lives have been saved because of it. The anti-americanism runs deep and leads to rapturous praise and support for whoever is considered our rival.
No country donates more foreign aid, no country takes in more immigrants, no country offers more military security etc, etc.
Loons on the left have mastered their gaslighting technique. It’s all they have.
No doubt about it.
I love China, and I'm NOT "red". As well I'm enjoying watching Trump chase the rest of the world towards China, almost as much as enjoying reading the comments of the "Joe McCarthys" on this site scramble in their attempts to put China down and a futile attempt to praise the damages being done by their puppet on Musk's string.
Watching Trump sell Ukraine down the river makes me sick. I don't use the word "evil" lightly. What Trump is doing for his dear friend Vladimir is evil.
Even more than what he's doing to the rest of the world? So I'm thinking of a certain word and am looking forward to what it's going to mean for America and Americans - "CONSEQUENCES".
Yes. Betrayal of everything America is supposed to stand for.
China is keeping Russia in the war supplying materials and keeping it's war machine functioning. Why don't you think China's material support for Putin matters? It's odd how that never seems to matter, isn't it?
That's even more pitiful than usual, Sean.
It's understandable, Bob. Bob Dylan got it right: "When you ain't got nothin' you got nothin' to lose."
Why do you persist in denying reality? Do you support china providing military aid to Russia?
China's assistance to Russia is miniscule compared to what America's military aid to Ukraine has been to pour fuel upon the fire.
A comment that avoids the question of, who invaded who.
China is no more respectful of sovereignty than Russia is.
Very true. Just look at all the land grab they are doing in the South China Sea. Granted, many of the Spratleys are disputed by several countries, but the Chinese has taken military control over several of them.
I understand some of the man made islands they made thee is starting to sink, so I guess that is a plus. Not a good idea to build on soft land in an earthquake prone part of the world.
America's military aid to Ukraine has been to pour fuel upon the fire.
That's a perfect encapsulation of what I was talking about. . Russia's invasion of another sovereign country started the biggest land war in Europe since 1945. Rather than blaming China for continuing to help Russia, the anti american left blames America for not helping Putin win the war quickly.
Every time someone here posts about Trump being Putin's lackey, remember it's China who is literally helping Russia with military assistance. That never seems to bother those people for some reason.
Whattabout... whattabout... whattabout...
S-o-o-o predictable.
OK... When did China last invade another country? Under what circumstances?
Do you have any idea what you're talking about?
Of course. Because your argument lacks principle and logic, so it's easy to expose that by showing your inability to apply the same standards across situations. "America is always to blame" is too simple of an argument to require anything else.
If you were arguing from a consistent set of principles, whataboutism wouldn't work. Your susceptibility to being exposed by what about arguments is something you should work on if it bothers you so much.
Okay ….. let’s see if I can get you up to speed.
Russia invades Ukraine, USA supports the invaded country, China supports the invading country.
Any questions?
Is Trump supporting Ukraine?
[deleted][✘]
Right from the beginning I have made it clear that although I may be the strongest NT member supporter of Israel in its conflicts with the Palestinians I take NO SIDE in the Ukraine/Russia conflict for more than one reason. My comment did not support either side, but what it said was that the very little that China has done in support of its ally that America pushed China to with its many acts of containing China and telling others to do so is MINISCULE as to what America has been doing to support Ukraine.
Trump has done far more to promote peace in that conflict, in less than a month, than Biden did for the entire war.
Anyone simple enough to believe Russia will get all it wants or Ukraine will get all it wants, is a dimwit. Conflicts like this never get resolved via silence but usually via negotiations.
Talk not silence.
You aren’t alone.
Watching the left the last few years has been like watching a Junebug, stuck on its back, trying to get back on its legs.
Interesting for a short time but then a total bore.
You are not alone in your strong support of Israel as I have made mine crystal here on NT numerous times.
That’s convenient ….. not taking a side. I suspect the irony of supporting Israel and not Ukraine is lost on you.
And to correct the last part. Support of Ukraine is not just the USA. It’s most of NATO and many other countries in the world. Whose Russia got? China …. North Korea …. Great company that ….
Seems to me, we should all start our analysis with:
Russia invaded Ukraine because Putin wants to conquer Ukraine as part of a desire to restore the territory of the former USSR.
Hamas savagely massacred Israeli citizens (mostly) and military because they want all Israelis dead.
You are skipping merrily right past the fact that North Korean troops are actually fighting for Russia against Ukraine, huh?
Of course North Korea, China and Russa are all working together to destroy Ukraine. Thanks for adding that to my argument.
Yet Hamas is a sand flea compared to the Russian gorgon...
Hamas attack on Israel was an atrocity that mainly resulted in suffering to the Palestinians and in many ways Palestinians lost the most. Whereas, despite being the aggressor and despite the massive suffering and countless deaths resulting Russia and Russians are hardly suffering consequences at all!
Significantly more Russians have died than Gazans.
Apparently you can add American MAGAs to that list, too...
Let's see.
Russia invades Ukraine. Obama refuses to send any military aid. Zero.
Trump becomes President and begins arming Ukraine.
Trump becomes President again and continues to arm Ukraine.
Left-wingers claim Trump arming Ukraine is the same as China and North Korea arming Russia.
The Russians were invading Russian troops in Ukraine killing Ukrainians. Palestinians dead were overwhelmingly civilians. You are purposely missing the main point. If Iranian troops in support of Hamas had mounted a full scale invasion of Israel and leveled its cities, then you might have had a point. They did not...
Lol.
Mostly true on both counts. Who do you support?
Mostly true?
What part of what I wrote was not 100% correct?
What in Hell is at all "lol" funny about the tens of thousands of civilians, mostly women, children and the aged, who have died in Gaza, Israel or Ukraine? In what MAGA Hell do dead Russian invaders equate with the innocent Ukrainian civilians they kill?
Because its not true.
Note the references. This by JBB:
is apparently (sadly) correct.
Even if wrong, there is nothing funny about the killing of thousands of people.
It is unfortunate but Palestine is reaping the whirlwind of electing and leaving Hamas is charge. Israel has done what was needed to protect itself from Palestine based rapists, murders and baby cookers.
Yes, the Palestinians elected Hamas and from that point on Hamas controlled them. They never should have put them in charge. Hamas is clearly the aggressor here.
Then what did the innocent civilians of Ukraine do to deserve to be murdered by Putin's invasion of their sovereign homeland?
The one big bully still wantonly bombing an entire nation unto rubble resulting in the deaths of untold thousands of innocent civilians is Trump's buddy Vlad Putin. Try harder to focus Sparty.
Looking at the videos of the obliteration of Gaza neighborhoods it would be a minor miracle if only 47,000 have been killed.
Where do you come up with a stupid question like that?
I’m not the one who needs to focus. See 6.2.17 and educate yourself.
Israel says the ratio is much closer to 1:1. And that's because Hamas refuses to wear uniforms, uses civilians as shields and operates out of civilian infrastructure. Given how the "civillians" have kept hostages and seem on the verge rioting to keep them, I'm not sure the line between civilian and combatant is very clear.
while a study by OCHR, that verified fatalities from three independent sources, found that 70% of Palestinians killed were women and children
That's not true
Hamas just violated the cease fire and shot a missile towards Israel. It fell short and apparently killed a civilian. That happened all the time during the war. The casualty will be blamed on Israel, just like the others. .
The question is legit. Your refusal to answer it is whack...
The 47,000 number is old and does not include thousands who died from deprivation and illnesses due to their displacement.
I doubt there is a way we can be precise here. The point made by JBB is that it was mostly civilians. It appears he is correct.
Take it up with the study, Sean. Your nuh-uh has no credibility.
Further, none of this is funny.
I actually looked at it. It doesn't claim what you claim it does Maybe you should read it and not rely on wikipedia.
none of this is funny.
You can either laugh or cry that people continue to parrot Hamas propaganda after all this time. The choice is yours.
B U L L S H I T
A dishonest tactic. The claim is clear as a bell in the reference and in the report itself:
And, of course, you buy that!?
Of course? You presume that I want these casualty counts to be high??
Nobody knows the exact numbers because both sides in this conflict have an agenda. So we go by the reports and make adjustments as new reports arise.
You seem to want to acknowledge only those numbers that support your agenda. I would prefer that the Palestinian casualties were far less because a) it is never good for civilians to be killed and b) this makes Israel (who was attacked) look bad.
Stop presuming based on your ill-conceived, simplistic stereotype.
The thinking world regards the source as garbage as well as any "reports" they want to put out there. Who believes anything a terrorist group has to say?
Now, how many of those "civilians" were HAMAS fighters? One thing that was found during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is that groups like Hamas, Taliban, al Queda and ISIS hide among the civilian populace so that when their attack goes sideways (they always do) they cry about "civilian casualties". Did you forget about the weapons cache's Hamas had in and around hospitals and schools and what they did when those places were considered military targets?
If "nobody knows the exact number", why perpetuate the bullshit by bringing it into the spotlight?..........unless this morning's memo dictated that that was what the left-side folks were supposed to think.
We never know the exact number. And both sides always disagree.
You presumed that I want these numbers to be high. That is a simplistic stereotype causing you to yet again get things wrong.
Your report is based on OHCHR being allowed to "verify" 8,199 deaths,almost 95% of which occurred in residential housing, the location that would almost be certain to have the highest proportion of women and children. Extrapolating that ratio to all deaths in Gaza is laughable.
The report I linked was from the United Nations of which I gave a tiny excerpt. You obviously did not bother to read the report.
Further, my first link was from Wikipedia which is based on the UN report and also the following:
What sources do you have? 'Jeremy Retired in NC' of NewsTalkers appears to be your only 'source'.
Unknown. Do not pretend that you know better. You are just posting bullshit with no supporting data whatsoever.
@6.2.52
Your nuh-uh is not persuasive.
I suppose if you don't understand selection bias it might appear not persuasive. Do you honestly believe 95% of the people killed by the IDF were in residential buildings, or maybe, just maybe, do you think Hamas only allowed the UN to verify those deaths that help its narrative?
Your argument is essentially the same as asking people at a DEI conference in November 2024 who they support for President and than using that to claim Joe Biden will get 98.9 percent of the vote.
I do not believe any of the numbers. As I noted, both sides in these conflicts take liberties.
What I have done is show that JBBs assertion that the majority of killed Palestinians are civilians is well-supported. What you have provided is your personal claims.
I have also noted that I would prefer that the numbers were favorable to Israel and these numbers are not. So I am arguing against what I would personally prefer.
That's just as laughable.
A crowd sources site? Really? You want to try CNN too?
Right. So the actual numbers could be much lower (by THOUSANDS).
You don't like the competition?
And, of course, you return with nothing but nuh-uh bullshit.
Trump is bringing peace to Ukraine the same way Neville Chamberlain brought peace to Czechoslovakia in 1938.
Yep, opinions do vary
TiG!
You're at it again!
Using facts!
How dare you?
There is no doubt in my mind that Israel has gone to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties. I also don’t doubt that Hamas has done everything in their power to insure civilian casualties.
No doubt
This is the cogent point in this argument.
I did not indicate the reasons for my neutrality about the Ukraine/Russia conflict so you can guess and criticize and taunt me as much as you want in that regard and as far as I'm concerned your opinion is just blowing in the wind.
Dear God, TiG!
When will you accept that facts and reason are useless against MAGA dishonesty?
Let the spewers spew, for God's sake!
Kinda like America and MAGA...
Gee. I am s-o-o-o surprised...
I made a simple observation based on your comment. No taunt to it but I guess your YMV’s.
No worries
Of course, one has to believe the Ministry of Health of the State of Palestine, and I for one, do not. I'm so amazed at those who ignore the fact that the people in Gaza danced in the streets and shared sweets to celebrate October 7, who are likely the same people who danced in the streets and shared sweets to celebrate 9/11, are so sympathetic and supportive of them, especially when it has been stated, by those who know, that Israel has been doing more to save the lives of civilians in a war zone than any army in history, while Hamas have been hiding their weapons, control centres and themselves in and under hospitals, schools, mosques and refugee communities. Some people just can't seem to get their priorities right.
LOL. As if the UN isn't the biggest antisemitic anti-Israel organization in the world. And why would you believe the Palestinian organization that announced that the bomb that was misfired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad hitting the Gaza hospital was an Israeli missile?
I have no idea what that acronym means. My search would only come up with YMMV and I don't understand that one either.
One thing though, we're on the same side when it comes to Israel.
Your mileage varys. No “may” about it from what I read.
Israel must defend itself. We absolutely agree on that
Look Buzz, I expect you to do a better job reading than the typical bunch who argue just to argue.
For example, when it comes to my position, I would expect that you would not ignore that I have written (several times):
Okay, got it - it means "It works differently in your situation", which is probably true in more ways than one.
What I have is no interest in playing your pathetic little games.