China's Xi courts Central and Latin American leaders

To strengthen relations with Latin America and increase China's influence in the region, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted a summit with leaders from Latin America, following a previous summit with his Brazilian counterpart.

On Tuesday, President Xi convened the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum in Beijing and welcomed Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Gustavo Petro of Colombia, and Gabriel Boric of Chile.

There, China pledged an approximately 10 billion U.S. dollar credit line to support projects in Latin America, and offered visa-free travel to citizens of some countries in the region.

Colombia has also joined China's Belt and Road Initiative, and agreements have been made for more cooperation in clean energy, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure development.