After disparaging China, Milei sends team to Beijing to negotiate swap line ‘urgently’

Sputnik – The president of the Central Bank of Argentina, Santiago Bausili, and the Secretary of Finance, Pablo Quirno, are expected to meet with the governor of the People’s Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, in the Chinese capital on Monday (29).

The main economic authorities, who left Buenos Aires on Friday (26), travel alongside the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Diana Mondino, amid negotiations for a US$18 billion (R$93 billion) foreign exchange swap line ), according to Bloomberg.

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Also according to the media, Mondino, who left on Thursday (25), will hold bilateral meetings with the vice president of China, Han Zheng, the representative of International Trade, Wang Shouwen, and his counterpart, Wang Yi, according to sources interviewed by the agency.

The most urgent issue on the bilateral agenda is the exchange rate of the US$ 18 billion, as Buenos Aires needs to renew around US$ 5 billion (R$ 25.8 billion) of this line by June, after the former Minister of Economy , Sergio Massa, used the funds largely to finance imports in 2023, the agency writes.

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Mondino is accompanied by a large delegation of Argentine businesspeople who will participate in several meetings to attract investments and increase commercial partnerships. She will also meet on Tuesday (30) with high-level Chinese officials to promote investment in infrastructure in Argentina.

In December last year, China suspended financing of US$6.5 billion (R$33.6 billion). Beijing’s decision coincided with the beginning of Milei’s mandate, who since his campaign as a presidential candidate said he would break relations with communist countries, including China.

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The visits and meetings demonstrate a context very different from that expressed by the president during his presidential campaign. At the time, Milei raised questions about the future of relations between Buenos Aires and Beijing, calling the Chinese “murderers”.

However, in an interview earlier this month with Bloomberg News, he adopted a much more pragmatic tone, avoiding incendiary comments and ensuring that he would not touch currency swaps.

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Before that, when she received a letter from President Xi Jinping congratulating her election, Milei lowered her tone and thanked him, sending “the most sincere well-being to the people of China”, as reported.