Argentina eases visa requirements for Chinese nationals in new overture to Beijing
Move comes as President Milei seeks to shift foreign policy amid delayed US trade talks
Argentina on Monday announced a loosening of visa requirements for Chinese citizens in a new overture to Beijing as President Javier Milei seeks to recalibrate his foreign policy amid delayed trade negotiations with the US.
Under the new policy, effective Tuesday, Chinese nationals with US or European Union visas will not need Argentine visas to enter the country for tourism or business.
Until now, all Chinese citizens were subject to Argentina’s full visa requirements.
The policy change follows weeks of uncertainty around the timing of a long-anticipated tariff agreement with Washington and comes amid growing US discomfort over Argentina’s warming ties with Beijing.
China’s foreign ministry responded at the time by accusing Washington of attempting to “drive a wedge” between China and its Latin American partners. The dispute highlighted the delicate position Milei faces as he courts both superpowers.
The visa announcement also follows another key development in Argentina’s relationship with China: the resumption of work on two major hydroelectric projects in the southern province of Santa Cruz.
The Jorge Cepernic and Néstor Kirchner dams, the largest infrastructure works funded by China in Argentina, had been paralysed since late 2023 by financial and contractual delays.
For more than a year, tensions mounted between the two countries over the stalled progress.
In March 2024, Chinese contractor Gezhouba Group suspended operations and repatriated its personnel, citing the Argentine government’s failure to meet prior obligations and the absence of the so-called Adenda XII, an agreement required to unlock further disbursements from Chinese banks. The delay led to thousands of lay-offs and public protests in the region.
The deadlock began to shift early this year, when Santa Cruz provincial officials resumed talks with Beijing. In February, Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos and Governor Claudio Vidal held a closed-door meeting with Chinese Ambassador Wang Wei and representatives of Gezhouba at the Casa Rosada, Argentina’s presidential palace.
Buenos Aires presented a confidential proposal intended to restart financing flows and move forward with construction. While details of the agreement remain undisclosed, officials described the talks at the time as “constructive” and said China was reviewing the terms.
It was not immediately clear from last week’s dams announcement when and which sectors of hydroelectric construction would initially resume.
The dam projects have long been a flashpoint in the bilateral relationship. First signed in 2014 under then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, they were halted by a Supreme Court injunction, downsized under former president Mauricio Macri, and only partially revived during the administration of Alberto Fernández.
As of mid-2025, the Cepernic dam is roughly 40 per cent complete, while the Kirchner site stands at 25 per cent, according to official estimates.
Monday’s visa announcement underscores a broader shift in President Milei’s approach to China. On the campaign trail in 2023, Milei had sharply criticised Beijing, grouping it among what he called “communist dictatorships” and promising to sever state-to-state ties.
The turnaround coincided with Beijing’s decision to renew tranches of currency swaps totalling 35 billion yuan (around US$5 billion), helping Argentina meet payments to the International Monetary Fund and stabilise its foreign reserves.
Milei had initially planned to visit China in January 2025 for the China-CELAC Forum between China and members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States but ultimately did not make the trip.
Despite recent gestures, officials in both capitals acknowledge the relationship remains a work in progress. “We’re doing well, but not as well as we’d like,” a senior Chinese official told the local newspaper Clarín earlier this year.