Petro signs 'strategic partnership' with Xi Jinping amid China charm offensive

In the last seven days, the leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Indonesia, Chile, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Colombia have paraded through Beijing. Xi Jinping's government is sending its top diplomat to Washington, its prime minister on a tour of Central Asia, and has a senior Arabic-speaking official, a former ambassador to France, roaming the Middle East to try to push for peace talks in the war between Israel and Hamas. The Asian superpower, while the world is awaiting the devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza, is involved in another type of more diplomatic, charm offensive, focused above all on dazzling even more the countries of the Global South, mostly aligned, like Beijing, with the Palestinian cause.

As happened when Russia attacked Ukraine, many developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have moved away from the position of much of the West, led by the United States, in support of Israel.. The divisions in the international community are accentuated and this is where the Chinese regime gains followers who join its vision of a new order that is more multipolar than ever.

The Asian giant's propaganda channels have been criticizing Western powers for days for their “double standards” regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the situation in Gaza.. A speech that also accompanies the last leader who has stepped on the red carpet in Beijing, Colombian president Gustavo Petro.

A few days ago, Petro assured that Colombia would open an embassy in Palestine and that, through Egypt, his Government would send food and medicine to people affected by the bombings in the Gaza Strip.. From China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke this week with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, reiterating that his country will do everything possible to “contribute to Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation.”. Wang also said Tuesday that Israel, along with its right to self-defense, has an obligation to respect international law and protect Gaza civilians.

Petro began his state visit to China on Tuesday, but it was not until Wednesday that he was received with honors by Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, the chamber of Tiananmen Square.. Just before the Colombian arrived, the Chinese president held a meeting with another foreign visitor, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who was in China on a trip to promote climate cooperation.

For his part, Petro, during his walk through the house of the country's second trading partner – the United States being the first – sought to renegotiate debt payment terms – according to the president, this skyrocketed due to the pandemic and the acquisition of vaccines. – and diversify the economic balance between both countries, focusing more on infrastructure investments by China.

This last point is where the construction of Bogotá's first metro comes in, carried out by a Chinese consortium.. Petro, who was mayor of his country's capital from 2012 to 2015, has been seeking for some time to make changes to the metro contract so that there is an underground section on the first line and that not everything is elevated as planned.

What Petro stressed in Beijing during his meeting with Xi Jinping was that China should elevate relations between the two countries to the level of “strategic partnership.”. It is a symbolic designation, but with great diplomatic weight because it raises bilateral relations between the two signatories to the maximum status.. One more step by the Chinese Government in its influence operation over Latin America.

“We understand each other and support each other's vital interests. We are good friends and partners,” Xi said during the reception of his guest, who thanked him for the “hospitality provided” and said that, now more than ever, it is of utmost importance to strengthen international cooperation in an increasingly interconnected world.

The Colombian leader, who was accompanied on his trip by his Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Transportation, assured that he is especially interested in Chinese projects under the banner of the Belt and Road, the expansive global infrastructure policy launched just a decade ago. by Xi himself. In Bogotá they do not hide that they long for a direct maritime connection between the Chinese ports and Buenaventura, one of the most important in Latin America.