Trump, Targeting China, Says Latin America's Natural Resources "Must Not Be Taken Away"

[Financial News] United States President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to hold a summit with China this month, emphasized that Latin American countries must not hand their natural resources over to foreign countries. The remarks are believed to be aimed at China, which continues to make massive investments in the development of key resources in Latin America.
According to the Washington Examiner and other local media outlets, Trump attended the "Shield of the Americas" event held at UN headquarters in New York on the 22nd (local time). He said, "The resources of the Americas should always belong to the people of the Americas."
The Shield of the Americas is a security cooperation group launched by Trump in March to jointly respond to transnational criminal organizations, including drug cartels, in Latin America. Many right-wing governments in Latin America are participating.
Trump said, "We must secure control over our own energy pipelines, rare earths and agricultural trade routes," adding, "The United States wants to work actively with you to achieve this goal and strengthen all our countries." He then referred to the vast natural resources held by members of the Shield of the Americas and argued, "We must not allow them to be taken away by hostile outside forces," adding, "If that happens, we will no longer have countries."
China, which began focusing on overseas resource development in the early 2000s, has poured massive amounts of money into mining investments in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. In February, Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) also partnered with British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto and purchased a 68.6% stake in Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA), an aluminum company owned by Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim Group.
According to China's state-run English-language newspaper Global Times in May this year, China had invested a total of $6.1 billion (about 8.2624 trillion won) in Brazil as of last year. This accounted for 10.9% of the total amount invested in China by foreign countries. As a result, China ranked first among the countries investing in Brazil, surpassing the United States (6.8%). In particular, China's mining investments more than tripled from the previous year to $1.76 billion (about 2.3839 trillion won).
Meanwhile, Trump repeatedly emphasized during his speech on the 22nd that the drug cartels must be eradicated. He said, "You can eliminate them yourselves. That's much better," but added, "If you can't, we will do it for you."
He also told the leaders of member countries, "There has been a major change in your countries. A major shift to the right," adding, "This is a good thing." In Latin America, right-wing governments have taken office in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, as well as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica and Honduras, since the launch of the Trump administration's second term last year.


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