The Chinese Embassy in Argentina criticized Claver-Carone: "It's not in keeping with the supposed freedom they claim to defend."

The Chinese embassy in Argentina attacked the United States Secretary of State for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone , for stating that Argentina must cancel the swap with the Asian giant if it wants to be "free." These statements came during negotiations between the Argentine government and the North American country to reach a trade agreement.

" The Chinese embassy rejects these statements and argues that their views on Sino-Argentine cooperation on currency swaps are replete with commonplaces, prejudices, and Monroe Doctrine manipulations ," they said in a statement shared on social media.

In this regard, China emphasized that the swap is "a mutually beneficial cooperation" and that it was decided "autonomously" by "two sovereign nations. The US side has no right to question it or point fingers ," the Embassy in Argentina emphasized.

"Forcing other countries to act on US orders is not in keeping with the so-called freedom they claim to defend , but rather means subjecting them to a greater lack of that freedom," criticized the Asian executives, who urged US authorities to "work and contribute to the development of other countries" instead of "trying to create problems for bilateral cooperation carried out by other nations."

This response from China directly targeted Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S. Secretary of State for Latin America, who stated: "As long as Argentina maintains this swap with China, it is not a free country." These statements did not sit well with the Asian giant, with whom Argentina renewed the swap for US$5 billion for an additional 12-month term.

A swap is a financial agreement in which two parties agree to exchange cash flows or some other asset according to a predetermined formula. In concrete terms, it is a contract in which they agree to exchange financial obligations, such as interest payments or the price of a commodity , at different points in the future. This agreement between Argentina and China has been in place for years, and during Alberto Fernández's administration, it was expanded to have that money available if needed.