South America rises to new challenges
Fernandez may have to deal with sharing attention with leftist populist Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the nation's former president and now vice-president, who some observers say will be the power behind the new government.
Trade between China and Argentina was valued at $16.5 billion in 2018, with two-thirds of it comprising exports to China, according to official Argentine figures.
The International Monetary Fund expects Argentina's economy to have shrunk by 3.1 percent last year, with inflation above 50 percent.
The country's debt-to-GDP ratio has soared to 93 percent, with the IMF coming to its aid with $57 billion in 2018, despite Argentina having defaulted on $93 billion of debt in 2001.
For its part, China is investing in infrastructure in Argentina.
China Gezhouba Group, a construction company based in Wuhan, Hubei province, has led the building of two hydroelectric dams and a new tunnel connecting Argentina and Chile in the Patagonia region.
Last month, China and Argentina signed a deal for the export of Argentine lemons.
In Ecuador, the government faced a swift backlash in October after it scrapped fuel subsidies, forcing the leadership to quickly retract the measure.
In Peru, President Martin Vizcarra dissolved a congress resisting his anti-corruption reforms and now has to cope with lawmakers who want to shorten his presidency.
In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, who was critical of China during his election campaign, has become more open to doing business with the world's second-largest economy.
Mauricio Santoro, an assistant professor in the Department of International Relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said, "The deep ties of Sino-Brazilian relations are part of a general trend that is making the whole region more important to China.
"In the 2000s, the big news was the rise in trade. In the 2010s, it was also about Chinese investment in Latin America and several countries in the region joining the Belt and Road Initiative.
"As we head into the 2020s, the perspective is that China will play an even more important role in the Brazilian economy, and this is why President Bolsonaro changed course in the first year of his administration, leaving behind his former harsh criticism of China and adopting a pragmatic approach."
Santoro said that last year Brazilian exports to China grew substantially, especially in the agribusiness sector. China bought more soybeans from Brazilian producers, because of the trade conflict with the US. The agreement for the phase one trade deal is expected to result in China buying more agricultural products from the US, including soybeans.
Santoro said that an outbreak of African swine fever in China saw the nation import much more pork from Brazil.
He added that the Bolsonaro administration is showing signs that it will not bow to US pressure to place sanctions on Chinese tech companies, and it looks as if Huawei will be able to take part in the 5G internet auction that will probably take place sometime this year.
