U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hand with China's President Xi Jinping at the end of a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. No U.S. President has been tougher on China than Donald Trump,

China is still cautiously trying to figure out what Trump wants. The president has threatened big tariffs in response to the inaction.

Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei came to office in late 2023 slamming China as a communist "assassin" and threatening to weaken ties with the Asian nation. Instead, exports to China including soy and lithium jumped 15% in his first year.

A decade ago, copper giant Peru's largest trade partner was the United States. Now it is China, by far. The Asian country gobbles up Peru's supply of copper and has built a massive port on the country's coast to turbo-charge bilateral trade.