The region was once considered as a US backyard.

Officials from Beijing kicked off talks with Ecuador in June, the government’s trade ministry was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post, and South American media reports point to Uruguay pursuing its own trade agreement with China – despite blowback from the Mercosur or Southern Common Market negotiating bloc to which it belongs with the likes of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

A deal with Panama is “under negotiation”, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce website, and China is conducting a joint feasibility study toward a pact with Colombia.

China and Nicaragua last month signed an “early harvest arrangement” for a free-trade deal, the ministry was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru have already signed trade deals with China, starting from Chile in 2005, with the pacts potentially offering a reduction in import tariffs while also opening key sectors to the other country’s investment.