China hosts Caribbean, Latin American nations amid US trade war talks

China will host a summit that includes its key Latin American trade partners this week in an effort to advance influence and partnerships in the region, as Beijing and Washington work on defusing their trade war.

Latin American and Caribbean officials including the presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Chile are set to attend the China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting in Beijing tomorrow.

Bilateral trade with the bloc was worth $427 billion from January to September 2024, according to Chinese data.

China’s President Xi Jinping will deliver a speech to the summit. The last time Xi addressed the forum was at the first of such meetings 10 years ago.

The China-CELAC Forum challenges long-standing American geopolitical and economic dominance in the region, which the Trump administration has sought to counter, and takes place after a weekend of high-stakes trade talks between the U.S. and China that ended on a positive note.

U.S. officials touted a “deal” to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, while Chinese officials said both had reached “important consensus” and agreed to launch another new economic dialogue forum. Both will release a joint statement today.

China has been trying to marshal a global coalition against what it called an “abuse of tariffs” by the United States.