As part of Honduran President Xiomara Castro's China trip this week, the two governments announced that they are ready for trade negotiations. China also gave a green light to some Honduran agricultural products so they can be sold in China.

A Peruvian trade official stated that Peru and China will resume trade talks to upgrade their bilateral trade agreement soon, while Uruguay plans to expand exports to China with potential trade talks.

After months of negotiations, China and Ecuador signed a bilateral trade agreement last week. This makes Ecuador the fourth country in the Latin American region to have a trade agreement with China.

China's tariff commission announced today that starting on May 1, 60 types of goods from Nicaragua will be tariff free. This is part of an early agreement reached between the two governments, as a precursor of a more comprehensive trade agreement for which the negotiations are ongoing.

A new report by a pair of scholars looks at Chinese lending in Latin America and the Caribbean, concluding that while loan amounts remain low by historical standards, the increase in lending this year "is indicative of continued Chinese interest in establishing strong diplomatic ties across the region."

Today, China and Honduras established a formal diplomatic relationship and a top Chinese official said that China is willing to import more from Honduras.

The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee held a hearing yesterday on "Combatting the Economic Threat from China." Issues that were discussed at the hearing included: bilateral trade, outbound and inbound investment related to China, Chinese lending, TikTok, and China's presence in Latin American and African countries.