AMONG the many goals of the recent Unite d States military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was to send China a message: stay away from the Americas.
For at least two decades, Beijing has sought to build influence in Latin America, not only to pursue economic opportunities but to gain a strategic foothold on the doorstep of its top geopolitical rival.
China‘s progress —from satellite tracking stations in Argentina and a port in Peru to economic support for Venezuela — has been an irritant for successive US administrations, including that of Donald Trump.
Several Trump administration officials said the US president’s move against Maduro was intended in part to counter China‘s ambitions, and Beijing’s days ofleveraging debt to get cheap oil from Venezuela were “over “.
Trump made the message explicit last Friday, expressing discomfort with China and Russia as a “next-door neighbour”, in a meeting with oil executives.
“I told China and I told Russia, ‘We get along with you very well, we like you very much, we don’t want you there, you’re not gonna be there,'” said Trump.
Now, he said, he will tell China that “we are open for business” and that they can “buy all the oil they want from us there or in the US”.
The success of the Jan 3 raid was a blow to China’s interests and prestige. The air defences that US forces quickly disabled had been supplied by China and Russia, and Trump said 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil under sanctions, much of it previously bound for Chinese ports, will now be sent to the US.
Analysts say Maduro’s capture exposed Beijing’s limited ability to exert its will in the Americas. “Beijing can protest diplomatically, but it cannot protect partners or assets once Washington decides to apply direct pressure,” said Craig Singleton, a China expert at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies think tank.
The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected what it called the U S’ “unilateral, illegal, and bullying acts”.
“China and Latin American and Caribbean countries maintain friendly exchanges and cooperation. No matter how the situation may evolve, we will continue to be a friend and partner,” said Liu Pengyu, the embassy’s sp oke sman.
The Trump administration’s policy towards Beijing appears contradictory, with concessions aimed at calming a trade war on one hand and more assertive US support for Taiwan on the other.
The Venezuela operation appeared to tilt US policy in a more hawkish direction. Indeed, the timing of the US attack amplified B eijing’s embarrassment.
Just hours before being toppled, Maduro met China’s special envoy for Latin America, Qiu Xiaoqi, in Caracas, his last public appearance before becoming a US captive.
The meeting, staged on camera even as US military forces were secretly poised to launch their operation, suggested Beijing was blindsided, said another official.
For years, Beijing poured money into Venezuela’s oil refineries and infrastructure, providing an economic lifeline after the US and its allies tightened sanctions from 2017.
Along with Russia, China has also provided funding and equipment for Venezuela’s military, including radar arrays recently billed as able to detect advanced US military aircraft.
China is now studying what went wrong with those defences so they can shore up their own systems, according to a person briefed on intelligence about their response.
China may soon be under pressure elsewhere in the region. It has sought to increase its influence in Cuba, and the US suspects Beijing runs an intelligence-gathering operation there.
The Trump administration also continues to push Chinese companies away from port operations around the Panama Canal, the critical waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific o ceans.
While China may be on the back foot in the region, analysts caution that extended US military involvement in Venezuela or deterioration in the security situation there could open a door for Beijing to reassert itself.
Daniel Russel, a former senior State Department official now with the Asia Society, said the dramatic shift inWashington under Trump from a “spheres- of-influence logic focused on the Western Hemisphere” could play into China’s hands.
“Beijing wants Washington to accept that Asia is in China’s sphere, and no doubt hopes that the US will get bogged down in Venezuela,” he said.
The writers are from Reuters
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
