China is now Latin America's second-largest trading partner, and the region has become the second-largest destination for Chinese investment abroad. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, more than 200 infrastructure projects have been implemented across Latin America and the Caribbean, creating more than 1 million jobs.

At the China-CELAC Forum in Beijing, the Chinese foreign minister offered to accept more Mexican imports and encouraged Chinese enterprises to invest in Mexico.

Colombia formally agreed on Wednesday to join China's vast Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, as Beijing draws Latin America closer in a bid to counter the US.

Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, plays a major part in China's agricultural imports. Coffee has become a key component of Sino-Brazilian trade, particularly amid the rising popularity of ready-to-drink coffee in China.

China and Colombia have signed a joint cooperation plan on the Belt and Road Initiative, state media said on Wednesday after their leaders met in Beijing. Burgeoning commerce in recent years has helped grow Beijing's influence in Latin America and the Caribbean,

The United States should look more generously at Latin America and South America, Brazil Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday, arguing that the world's largest economy has "much to gain" from greater industrial development across the continent.

Tariffs aren’t the only battleground to keep an eye on in the trade war between the US and China. Access to Wall Street could be used as a lever in the negotiations, leaving almost 300 Chinese companies listed in the US at risk of being removed from American stock exchanges.