The two countries upgraded their relations as Colombian president Gustavo Petro met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on a visit to Beijing this week, his first to the world’s second-largest economy since assuming office last year.

The upgrade of relations with Colombia means China now has strategic ties with 10 out of the 11 South American countries with which it has relations. Guyana is the only country in the region with which it has ordinary bilateral ties.

In recent years, China has stepped up a charm offensive in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, a region of strategic significance for arch-rival the US.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, China was the first country that sent vaccines to Colombia. In 2021, in recognition of China’s help in fighting the coronavirus, Xi was invited to give a speech, via videolink, to the people of Colombia.

Chinese imports from Colombia have sharply risen in the last few years, becoming the South American nation’s second-biggest trading partner after the US. In 2022, shipments from Colombia to China totalled US$7 billion, up almost 20% from five years earlier.

Colombia is one of the closest US allies in the region. A middle-income nation and one of the oldest democracies in Latin America, it established ties with the US in 1822.

It established relations with China in 1980.