The next few months will bring a series of high-profile multilateral engagements between China and Latin American countries, as Beijing seeks to capitalize on discontent with Trump.
In the coming three months, China will have a number of opportunities to advance its multilateral engagement with the Americas, leveraging discontent among many governments in the region with the new posture taken by the U.S. government on tariffs and other issues. These opportunities include the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Fourth Ministerial Forum, to be held in Beijing in May; the 55th General Assembly of the Organization of American States in Antigua and Barbuda in June; and the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July.
The Fourth China-CELAC Ministerial Forum is overdue; it will be the first executive-level convening of the entity since the Third China-CELAC Forum in Mexico in December 2021. Brazil’s President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva (commonly known as Lula) and President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, among other Latin American leaders, are expected to be present for the forum in China, creating possibilities for multiple bilateral interactions advancing strategic coordination – with China’s President Xi Jinping and with each other.
Traditionally, such meetings have been opportunities for China to present, and Latin American states to express concurrence with, Beijing’s agenda for engagement with the region for coming years. Although the resulting “roadmap” is usually vaguely worded, it highlights areas of emphasis for Beijing on approaches to global issues. The coming forum follows the assumption of the rotating CELAC presidency last month by Colombia’s leftist president, Petro.
Background image of the earth from Deposit photos via the Diplomat (https://thediplomat.com/2025/05/chinas-coming-diplomatic-blitz-in-the-americas/)