Argentine President Milley did not ask for aid funds at the G7 summit, so he turned around and turned to China, handing out a "verbal message" requesting to come to China for an interview. So should China respond?
At the G7 summit that ended a few days ago, in fact, many dignitaries from other countries attended, hoping to take this opportunity to meet the heads of the G7 and reap some benefits, such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Argentine President Milley. Milley was overjoyed to be given the opportunity to attend the G7 summit, but he was disappointed because none of the seven Western countries promised to provide Argentina with the most needed economic aid at the moment. It is particularly noteworthy in the United States, where Milley has visited the United States three times in more than half a year after taking office, and has not met with US President Joe Biden, and the most influential official he has seen is only Sullivan, the president's national security adviser. This time in Italy, Milley met with Biden, but the result was the same, Biden did not promise to give Milley a penny.
(This G7 meeting was also attended by many heads of state, and Milley is on the far left of the picture above.)
In desperation, Milley turned around again and begged for the Chinese side. The biggest result of the recent visit of Argentine Foreign Minister Mondino to China is that China agreed to renew the currency swap agreement worth 35 billion yuan with Argentina, extending the validity period of the agreement for 12 months, after which the Argentine central bank will gradually repay the part of the currency swap agreement that has been used in about a year starting from mid-2025. This means that the repayment schedule, which was originally due in June and July this year, will be pushed back to July 2026, which is about 2 years later.
This result gave Milley a glimmer of hope: "Maybe China can help Argentina?" Therefore, Milley recently requested to come to China for an interview by "handing over a message". According to Argentine media reports, Milley plans to visit China on July 4, but this news has not been confirmed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and some Argentine government officials have said that Milley will visit China, but the date has not been determined. There is no doubt that if China agrees to Milley's visit to China, it means that Argentina has a greater chance of receiving help from China.
(At the G7 summit, Milley curries favor with Italian Prime Minister Meloni)
It is well known that Milley made a lot of anti-China rhetoric during the election campaign, claiming that he would "no longer deal with a country like China" after being elected. However, as soon as he took office, he was "educated" by the harsh reality facing Argentina, saying that he "never intended to sever ties with countries such as China and Brazil". During his more than half a year in power, Milley slashed government spending, including necessary education spending, infrastructure construction spending, and basic welfare, and turned the Argentine government's finances from a deficit to a green one. If it's really that good, why is Milley still "asking for food" everywhere?
It is an indisputable fact that Argentina has been plunged into economic chaos because of Milley's "shock therapy", and there is a great need for external economic assistance. According to the successful experience of Bolivia and Poland in the 80s of the last century in adopting the "shock therapy" invented by the American economist Jeffrey Sachs, during the "shock" period, these countries need a large amount of external financial blood transfusion to ensure that the economy can survive to the moment of recovery. However, Argentina did not even have that chance.
So far, the biggest economic aid Argentina has received is the multi-billion dollar "special drawing rights" of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which allows Argentina to borrow new debt to pay off old debts, and major Western countries, including the United States, have nothing to do with Argentina. To make matters worse, if the "shock therapy" is successful, the economy will show signs of recovery after half a year of "shock", but Argentina has been "shocking" for half a year, and the economy shows no signs of recovery. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently sharply lowered its outlook for Argentina's economy in 2024, expecting the economy to shrink by 3.5%.
(Milley's performance by the Wailing Wall during his visit to Israel was a shocking one)
Since taking office, Milley has made it clear that he is "pro-Western and far-reaching, China-Russia", but this encounter at the G7 summit is equivalent to a resounding slap in the face. So he had to swallow the bitter fruit and turn his head to China, which had always stated that he wanted to alienate himself. According to foreign media reports, the Argentine foreign minister also made a request to the Chinese side for a loan of 20 billion US dollars during his visit to China, but the Chinese side refused. From this point of view, Milley's intention to visit China this time is probably to continue to seek the consent of the Chinese side in this regard.
(Milley visited the United States three times in the first six months of taking office, but the top U.S. official he met was Sullivan)
So, what might be China's response to Milley's request for a visit? You must know that Argentina is the second largest economy in South America, and it has actually passed the BRICS inspection and obtained the ticket to join the BRICS, which is enough to show the importance of Argentina in the international community; At the same time, China has always been Argentina's most important trading partner, and the trade volume between the two countries has been increasing in recent years. Therefore, it is possible for China to "win" over Argentina. On the other hand, however, as long as the Milley government does not abandon its unfriendly policies and even prejudices against China, and does not abandon the outdated view of the so-called "values first" in dealing with China, it is clear that the Chinese side will not make any concessions or help to Argentina, even if Milley personally visits China.
Therefore, whether the Chinese side will agree to Milley's request to visit China depends on Milley's performance: he must show real sincerity.