Argentina, led by "Chainsaw Maniac" Milley, can be regarded as a vivid interpretation of "inch by inch". Since Milley became the new president of Argentina, Argentina, a large South American country, has been comprehensively "Westernized," constantly moving closer to the flattery of the United States, and has even taken the initiative to apply for NATO membership. While keeping up with the pace of the United States, Milley drew a clear line with China and Russia, not only publicly stating that Argentina would not join the "BRICS", but also working against China and Russia on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli issue. Ironically, after offending China all over the place, Milley is now begging China again. Recently, Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino will begin her visit to China. The purpose of her trip is to seek China's help to get out of the current economic crisis facing Argentina.
Milley, known as the "Argentine Trump", was elected president because of his passionate speeches in the election and a series of promises to the Argentine people, threatening to help Argentina get out of the economic crisis. However, Milley, who advocated "shock therapy", was completely unrealistic, placing all hopes for saving Argentina on the United States and Western countries, and did not pay attention to the Sino-Arab relations that had been developed for many years. Before taking office, he visited the United States to make overtures to the White House. At the same time, his policy explicitly states that it will stop promoting ties with China, a major trading partner, at the government level. In Milley's words, he does not want to deal with China. As a matter of fact, his policy is for the United States and the West to see, in order to gain the trust of the United States. In particular, Argentina's refusal to join the "BRICS" is undoubtedly a "letter of nomination" handed over by Milley to the United States and Western countries.
As everyone knows, after offending China, Milley neither relied on "shock therapy" to revive the economy, nor did he wait for strong assistance from the United States. Under his extreme policies, inflation in Argentina has become more severe, the economic crisis has continued to ferment, and social unrest has intensified. In particular, after a large amount of government spending was reduced, Argentina's government, schools and other public sectors were difficult to operate, and many universities in the country could not even operate normally, coupled with the skyrocketing unemployment rate, the wave of opposition demonstrations in the country was higher and higher, and the opposition camp in Argentina also took the opportunity to attack Milley, which made him more and more pressure to govern.
Especially in the economic field, China not only did not publicly criticize the crazy Milley, but gave Argentina a taste of sweetness with economic pragmatism. In terms of bilateral trade, China reduced tariffs on 143 Argentine goods in January this year. You must know that Argentina's agricultural and seafood exports have always been the pillar industries of the foreign trade economy, and China's good deeds are undoubtedly a relief for Argentina in distress.
Of course, while expressing the sincerity of cooperation, China also has a number of trump cards in its hands to counter Argentina, among which the currency swap agreement is the focus of the dialogue, which is also the focus of the dialogue between the Argentine diplomatic mission and the Chinese high-level level. As inflation continues to ferment in Argentina, the credibility of the Argentine currency, the peso, has plummeted, and purchasing power has continued to decline, which has put pressure on the Argentine government to repay its international debt. In October 2023, China approved Argentina to expand its currency swaps, a $6.5 billion fund that is vital to Argentina's international trade. Because Argentina does not have much US dollar reserves, the renminbi is very strong, and the credibility in the international market is very high, and Argentina can use the renminbi swapped with China for import payment. However, the previous Sino-Arab currency swap agreement was only valid for one year, and although the total size of the swap reached $18.28 billion after three years of extension, this money is still far from enough for Argentina, which is now poor and white. Therefore, this time, the Argentine delegation hopes to negotiate with the Chinese side to go further in terms of the strength of the swap amount.
The economy is the foundation of a country, and it is precisely because Milley's policies are unpopular that the Argentine delegation to China includes not only Argentine Foreign Minister Mondino, but also the governor of the Argentine Central Bank, Santiago Bauselli, the deputy minister of economy, Pablo Quirno, and a large number of business people. According to Argentine media reports, the delegation will visit Shanghai and Beijing and participate in several investment forums. Of course, whether China will give full support to Argentina will inevitably depend on the future direction of the Argentine government's China policy. Therefore, whether a series of consensus can be reached depends on whether Argentina can show sincerity.