President Donald Trump and Argentine President Mauricio Macri met on Friday. | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
After meeting with Trump, Argentina's president had to downplay a White House readout that described China's economic behavior as "predatory."
A routine White House press statement describing a run-of-the-mill meeting Friday between President Donald Trump and Argentine President Mauricio Macri caused an unexpected diplomatic dust-up when it attacked China's economic behavior as "predatory."
The word choice, while common for the Trump administration, set off alarm bells for Argentine officials who are hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of the G-20 leaders summit, where the two countries will sign a trade pact. Argentina has also courted billions in investment from Beijing over the past decade, and is hoping to announce on Sunday the completion of an $8 billion deal to build a nuclear power plant.
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Argentine chancellor Jorge Faurie attempted to walk back the White House statement, telling reporters that the tone of the meeting was "extremely cordial."
"I don't think there was a reference [to China] in those terms," said Faurie, according to Argentine daily La Nación. The White House was not immediately available for comment.
In a statement released earlier in the day, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had said: "Today, prior to the start of the G20 Summit President Trump and President Macri met over breakfast to reaffirm the strong partnership between the United States and Argentina. The two leaders reiterated their shared commitment to face regional challenges like Venezuela and predatory Chinese economic activity."
The White House wording could be seen as a mere jab in the ongoing U.S.-China trade spat that has led to escalating tariffs between the two nations. The rest of the statement was relatively standard, noting, for instance, "the two leaders reiterated their shared commitment to face regional challenges like Venezuela," before mentioning China.
But the Trump administration is also increasingly worried about the growing influence of China in Latin America. China's incursion in the region has caused some countries to align with Beijing — in May, the Dominican Republic severed ties with Taiwan, the self-governing island that remains unrecognized by China.
Macri has collaborated with Xi, as well. China has invested $18.2 billion in Argentina — mostly in infrastructure — over the past decade.
But Argentina has sought to court these investments without upsetting the U.S., the other half of one of the world's biggest geopolitical rivalries. To that effect, Washington and Buenos Aires signed an energy cooperation agreement on Friday.
Still, Trump's behavior during the trip — his first foray into Latin America — has caused other "annoyances" for Macri, according to local media. Trump was late to his morning meeting and dropped his translation headset on the floor, complaining, "I understood you better in your language than in the interpretation."
The president also left Macri alone onstage during a photo-op where he was greeting leaders, reportedly because of a miscommunication.
Andrew Restuccia contributed to this report
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