The world's second-largest economy will provide 66 billion yuan ($9.18 billion) in credit to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States' (CELAC) members, Xi told delegates from around 30 nations gathered in Beijing for the three-yearly China-CELAC Forum Ministerial Meeting.
Xi promised leaders including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro that China would also import more from Latin America and encourage Chinese companies to boost investment.
China also sees stepping up its engagement as a way to squeeze self-ruled Taiwan. Seven of the 12 countries that have official diplomatic ties with the island, which Beijing considers one of its provinces, hail from the region.
The fresh credit line, denominated in yuan, will be welcomed in many regional capitals, analysts say, although the funding is not immediately useful to countries struggling to service dollar-denominated debt.
“I think there is a case to be made that it is a win for Latin America in the sense that getting access to capital is now not as easy as it used to be.”
Xi also announced visa-free travel would be rolled out to five countries, without specifying which ones.
The Forum comes as many Latin American and Caribbean states seek to negotiate better trade terms with the United States, following President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
But Brazil, for one, has been aligning more closely with China, sensing an opportunity to sell more agricultural goods to the world's top food importer as it winds down purchases from the U.S.
Two-way trade between China and the CELAC bloc was $515 billion in 2024, according to Chinese customs data, up from $450 billion in 2023 and just $12 billion in 2000.
($1=7.1925 Chinese yuan renminbi)
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