China overtakes US in Latin America influence

China’s influence in Latin America is now viewed more positively than that of the US, a major poll conducted in 17 Latin American countries showed on Friday.

China overtook the US in terms of influence for the first time since the annual Latinobarometro survey began in 1995.

It showed 57 percent of people in Latin America considering the US to be a positive influence, down from 60 percent in 2020.

From right, first lady Melania Trump, US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, prepare for a photo on the steps of the National Archives Museum in Washington on Friday last week.

Photo: AP

Meanwhile, China was considered a positive influence by 65 percent of respondents, a jump from 48 percent six years ago.

Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic were the only countries in the region where US influence was deemed more positive than that of China.

The report partly attributed the shift to Washington’s “almost complete absence” from the region after the 2003 Iraq War.

During that time, Latin America “drew closer to other powers, to China, to the EU, to Japan,” Latinobarometer director Marta Lagos said.

China had won over Latin American populations by allowing them to access cheaper imports, Lagos said.

“The void that China fills is the void in people’s pockets, more than anything else,” she added.

The growing disaffection for the US comes nearly halfway through US President Donald Trump’s second term, during which he has openly asserted his desire for hegemony over Latin America.

The US remains more popular than China, with 63 percent saying they had a favorable view of the world’s top economy, compared with 58 percent for its arch-rival, but its popularity was markedly down compared to 2024, under then-US president Joe Biden, when 73 percent had a favorable view of the US.

Trump’s push to restore US dominance in what Washington calls “our hemisphere” was in evident in January when the US overthrew then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

Majority of people in all but one country — Argentina — approved of Maduro’s capture by US special forces, the poll showed.

However, only 35 percent believed it benefited Venezuela, compared with 28 percent who said it harmed the Caribbean country, the poll showed.

Venezuelans were among those who viewed US influence most positively.