A top adviser to US President Donald Trump said that Washington’s support for Argentina’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund hinges on President Javier Milei distancing himself from China, specifically by ending a currency swap agreement with Beijing.
Speaking at Miami Dade College on Thursday, Mauricio Claver Carone, Trump’s special envoy for Latin America, described Milei as “an ally” but stressed that Washington’s priority is to ensure any new IMF deal does not “reinforce China’s position” in Argentina.
“We want the famous credit line that Argentina has with China to end,” Claver Carone said, referring to the swap arrangement, which he labelled “extortionate”. He warned that as long as it remains in place, “China will always be able to extort Argentina.”
Currency swap agreements allow two countries to exchange currencies at a pre-agreed rate, providing one another with liquidity in times of need.
For Argentina, the swap line with China has been critical, as it enables the country’s central bank to access renminbi that can be converted into dollars, bolstering foreign reserves and, by extension, the Argentine government’s ability to repay creditors including the IMF.
With Argentina’s history of financial instability and limited access to international markets, the swap agreement with Beijing has acted as an essential financial backstop. Originally signed in 2009, it has been renewed and expanded several times.
