New Argentine leader, China critic Javier Milei unlikely to dial back bilateral ties: analysts

Far-right former TV pundit campaigned on severing relations with Beijing, but he won with backing from ex-president who warned against doing so

China, alarmed by rhetoric, says no country can cut diplomatic ties and ‘still be able to engage in economic trade and cooperation’

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Javier Milei, Argentina’s president-elect, pauses while addressing supporters at his campaign headquarters in Buenos Aires on Sunday. Photo: AP

Published: 3:01am, 25 Nov 2023Updated: 6:26am, 25 Nov 2023

Argentina’s president-elect Javier Milei will find it difficult to revisit agreements with China that Buenos Aires has already signed and would likely face resistance from close political allies if he tried, analysts have told the Post.

The self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Milei campaigned on severing relations with China, one of the South American country’s main trading partners, referring to the government in Beijing as “assassins” and accusing China’s Communist Party of killing those “who cannot do what they want”.

Yet Milei drew vital backing from the centre-right Republican Proposal party (PRO) led by ex-Argentine president Mauricio Macri, who conditioned its support on Milei upholding “the significance of the relationship with China” and warning of “potential risks” if ties with Beijing were severed, according to Bernabé Malacalza of Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council.

Macri masterminded the candidacy of the PRO’s Patricia Bullrich, who placed third in the first round of the presidential election in October, garnering about 24 per cent of votes.

Javier Milei, presidential candidate of the Liberty Advances coalition, speaks at his campaign headquarters after polls closed for Argentina’s general elections in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Photo: AP

In the run-off election that Milei won on Sunday, the far-right former television pundit was able to secure votes from many who had cast ballots for Bullrich.

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