Argentina-China ties reach new level
As Buenos Aires joins BRI, economic exchanges and infrastructure cooperation receive a boost
China and Argentina took their relationship to a new level as Buenos Aires joined the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative this month, bolstering a partnership as the two nations celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties.
The move, which officially took place on Feb 6 during a visit by Argentine President Alberto Fenandez to Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, has been in the works for a few years.
“Argentina’s entry into the BRI is a fundamental milestone in the bilateral relationship and reflects the continuity and strengthening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries,” Cristian Inderkumer, director of research at the Civic Association for Argentina-China Cooperation, told China Daily.
“Argentina and China are complementary economies, and the announced investments are tools that will further consolidate the trade relationship, as well as cooperation, exchanges and friendship between the two nations,” said Inderkumer, speaking from Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital city.
As Argentina has joined the BRI as a full member, Beijing and Buenos Aires entered into several significant agreements to further develop Argentina’s infrastructure.
Railways and energy are some of the sectors that will benefit from stronger cooperation between the two sides within the BRI framework.
China is already participating in Argentina’s efforts to improve its rail infrastructure, providing knowhow and funding for some projects. Now, with the BRI agreement, such collaboration will gain further momentum, experts say.
“This is a very important step to improve the quality of service in all the lines operated by Trenes Argentinos,” said Martin Marinucci, head of operations at Trenes Argentinos, the South American nation’s railway transportation services provider.
With this support we will be able to advance much faster on the railway projects, he said.
In late January, the agency signed three agreements to analyze and evaluate financing for railway projects under a concession scheme that involves several Chinese firms including China Railway International Group and CRRC Qingdao Sifang Company.
“These are works that improve the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of passengers, both current and those who will see the train arrive at their localities,” said Marinucci.
The projects will result in “more train frequencies, more services, better stations”, the official added.
In the energy sector, Argentina and China entered into a cooperation agreement on Feb 1 for construction of the Atucha III nuclear plant, which involves a reactor of 1,200 MW, in Lima, a city in the province of Buenos Aires. Argentina is investing $8 billion in the project and China is providing the construction and knowhow.
“It is a historic event, for which we waited many years,” Diego Hurtado, vice-president of Argentina’s National Atomic Energy Commission, said in a statement.
“Having China as a partner in the fourth power plant for Argentina is a window to multipolarity and, on the other hand, it also means having a locomotive for the nuclear sector,” he said.
Julian Gadano, director of the Nuclear Energy Program at Argentina’s National University of Tres de Febrero, said the country has a wonderful opportunity to deepen relations with China, as it did in the sixties with Germany.
“Argentina has an opportunity with China,” said Gadano, who is a former deputy secretary of nuclear energy in the Argentine government.
The relationship with China “must be thought of from a more integral and cooperative technological point of view”, he said.
“In the long term, without altering the political balances, Argentina can have a win-win technological cooperation relationship with China.”
And Chinese infrastructure experience should also come in handy in areas beyond nuclear power and trains.
Argentina is building a large hydroelectric complex in the Santa Cruz River, a project worth over $4.7 billion, as well as the Caucharia Photovoltaic Park, the largest of its kind in Latin America, all with the experience of Chinese contractors.
Chinese firms put in more than $20 billion in non-financial direct investment in BRI countries in 2021, and the flow of resources that reach Argentina should increase.
“I am confident that opportunities for financing, direct investment, major long-term projects, trade linkages and knowledge sharing will become evident with BRI, transcending the geopolitical juncture of the moment,” said Hernan Prieto, chief executive at Latin-China Consulting and representative of the Argentina Confederation of the Medium Enterprise in China.