Recently, Argentina made a seemingly unexpected but actually reasonable decision, the country actually applied to join NATO. Of course, this is not the same as Sweden and Finland's accession to the treaty, and Argentina is only seeking to be a "global partner" of NATO. But this movement is a direct reflection of the fact that the Milley government is indeed continuing to accelerate its move towards the West. In the long run, as long as Argentina has NATO's status as a "global partner", it is probably only a matter of time before the country becomes a full member of NATO. #军史观察团#
The main reason for the surprise is that Argentina has previously rejected the opportunity to join the BRICS. And we all know that the biggest dilemma facing Argentina at the moment is obviously the economic problem, compared to the security issue. In other words, at least from a practical point of view, Argentina's rejection of the BRICS to NATO is not in the country's interests.
However, considering that Argentine President Milley has been trying to show goodwill to the United States and the West since the beginning of his election campaign, and in order to cater to them, he has even made many unfriendly remarks about Argentina's most important trading partners, such as China and Brazil. From this point of view, it is indeed reasonable for Argentina to fall further into the US-led NATO camp.
Of course, it is unrealistic to say that Argentina's application to become a "global partner" of NATO has not reaped any benefits. After all, China has always been one of Argentina's most important trading partners in the economic sphere. This means that in order to win over Argentina against China, the United States will more or less come up with something. So we saw that as soon as Argentina applied to NATO, the United States announced that it would provide $40 million in military aid to the country. At the same time, taking into account the fact that Argentina recently announced the purchase of fighter jets from Denmark, it is obvious that Argentina, as a NATO "global partner," will have greater convenience and some privileges in purchasing weapons and equipment from Western countries in the future.
But again, Argentina's economic predicament is the one that needs to be solved urgently, and in this regard, NATO, a military organization, is clearly unable to provide much help to Argentina. Against this backdrop, Argentina has made another unexpected decision, that is, before Argentina has officially become a NATO "global partner", the country has suddenly made overtures to China.
According to Russian media reports, recently, the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially announced the visit of Argentine Foreign Minister Mundino to China, and she will visit Shanghai and Beijing from April 28 to 30. During this time, she will attend a number of forums to explore opportunities for Chinese investment in Argentina. According to the Arab side, in addition to visiting China, Mondino will also visit countries such as France and Belgium. The move of the Arab side to regard China as the first stop and put it in front of Western countries is obviously intended to show the importance it attaches to China.
So, what is Argentina's operation to show favor to China at this time?
It should be pointed out that this is not the first time that the Milley government has oscillated between China and the West, or between China and the United States. For example, before Argentina applied to become a "global partner" of NATO, Argentina worked with China to clarify rumors about China-Arab space cooperation projects that the United States had fabricated. Argentina's purpose of swaying left and right is not complicated, and like most countries, they want to maximize their interests in great power competition.
Argentina is courting China at this time, because Argentina knows very well that if the country wants to get out of its economic predicament, it can only seek China's help. On the one hand, we have a lot of demand for products such as food and minerals, so it is difficult for the country to find an alternative to China, and on the other hand, they import high-quality and low-cost products from China, which can go a long way to alleviate inflationary pressures. Moreover, China can help even Argentina's most troublesome debt problem. According to the China-Arab currency swap agreement, the renminbi is the best option for them to repay their debts when the supply of dollars is insufficient.
In a sense, Argentina is only applying for NATO's "global partner" rather than directly becoming a full member of NATO, and it cannot be ruled out that it is just to reserve enough room for itself to advance and retreat. In addition to making demands on the United States, such as providing some support on the Falklands issue, Argentina can also use it as a bargaining chip with China.
However, it is obviously extremely risky for Argentina to do so. Not to mention whether the United States will be able to give Argentina what it wants, China and Argentina have faced many obstacles in Sino-Arab cooperation alone. Argentina's rejection of the BRICS has greatly reduced the country's sincerity in cooperation with China. Argentina's interaction with NATO shows that the country is heavily influenced by the United States. As a result, we can only be cautious about investing in Argentina.
In short, we still hope that Argentina can handle its relations with China from a pragmatic perspective, and if it always has the idea of taking it all at all sides, Mondino's visit to China will probably only disappoint Argentina.