Argentina’s Milei pivots to pragmatism in first talks with China’s Xi after shaking up the G20

Associated Press

LA PAZ, Boliva (AP) — Last year, then-presidential candidate Javier Milei declared Argentina would not “make deals with communists” in China or Brazil, calling their leaders “murderers” and “thieves” in a bid to channel the populist energies of Donald Trump into a winning political message. But Tuesday, President Milei found himself at the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping and vowing to boost trade with the Asian powerhouse, a day after his economy minister signed a preliminary agreement to export Argentine natural gas to Brazil. The final moments of the high-profile summit revealed Milei’s more pragmatic streak, coming as a surprise after the irascible president sought to undercut international initiatives this month.