By Analía Rojas | 2025-05-29

BUENOS AIRES -- A high-level visit by Chinese business executives to Argentina has reignited concerns over Beijing's deepening grip on strategic sectors of the country's economy.

Led by Ren Hongbin, a top Communist Party official and chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the delegation discussed economic matters May 7 with Argentine officials and business leaders, promising cooperation and future investment.

But for many in Argentina, this was not a diplomatic gesture. It was a calculated move in China's long game: to entrench itself in critical infrastructure, financial systems and industrial sectors in Latin America's third largest economy.

While Chinese officials framed the trip as a continuation of friendly Sino-Argentine relations, analysts and opposition figures warned that the agreements under discussion would tighten Beijing's influence over Argentina's sovereignty.

Strategic sectors under Chinese control

The Chinese delegation represented a cross-section of Beijing's growing economic muscle. Among them: Sinograin Oils, a major state-owned grain trader; China Co-Op Group, which controls more than 13 million tons of grain storage capacity; Power Construction Corporation of China, builder of the Cauchari Solar Park in Jujuy; and China Railway Construction Corporation, which has already executed over $1 billion in railroad projects in Argentina.

They were joined by corporate giants like Hisense, which sells Chinese-made electronics across Argentina; ZTE, a telecom behemoth tied to Radio Victoria in Tierra del Fuego; and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, one of the world's largest banks by market value. Chery International, the Chinese carmaker, is reportedly finalizing plans to build a factory in Córdoba.

These companies seek more than market share; they aim for dominance in sectors that Argentina cannot afford to lose to foreign ownership: food supply chains, renewable energy, transport, telecommunications and banking, according to economists.

In the first quarter of 2025 alone, China accounted for 24.7% of Argentina's imports.

Financial dependence, political leverage

A month before the delegation's arrival, on April 10, China's central bank renewed a $5 billion currency swap with Argentina's Central Bank, a deal portrayed as a financial lifeline for a country crippled by inflation and dwindling reserves. Yet even Argentina's political left has condemned the agreement, warning that it deepens structural dependence on Beijing.

"More debt, more submission," declared La Izquierda Diario, a leftist publication that warned of opaque terms and hidden political conditions.

Published on April 10, the article warned that Argentina's "desperate need for foreign reserves and mounting pressure from international financial markets have pushed the government to accept conditions that entrench its dependence."

At the same time, it argued, "fraudulent external debt remains the primary tool of plunder and domination, further deepening the country's economic and social deterioration."

A January 2023 report by Fundar, an Argentine think tank, reinforced these concerns, warning that while the interest rates on Chinese loans sometimes may be lower than those on international markets, the attached conditions, including exclusive bidding rights and the use of strategic assets as collateral, endanger Argentina's economic sovereignty.

National industry on edge

As China strengthens its position, local industries are sounding the alarm. The Argentine shipbuilding sector has warned that a proposed influx of used Chinese vessels could destroy domestic shipyards and cost hundreds of jobs. Local auto industry leaders remain wary of the potential Chery plant, fearing unfair competition and job displacement.

Meanwhile, small and medium-sized businesses, already struggling, now face a wave of cheap, mass-produced Chinese goods that could wipe out entire segments of the market.

Caught between economic desperation and global power games, Argentina faces difficult choices. Infrastructure development and foreign investment remain vital, but they come at a cost. Without clearer rules and stricter oversight, the country risks becoming a pawn in Beijing's global chessboard.

China's interest in ports, power grids and telecom networks is not just about business. These assets carry strategic weight militarily, diplomatically and economically.

In cloaking these ambitions under the language of trade and friendship, Beijing masks a deeper goal: entrenching itself in Latin America's future.