President Trump wants Latin American countries to shift closer into Washington’s orbit, raising echoes of the Monroe Doctrine, when the United States claimed the Western Hemisphere as its domain.

       This week, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is hosting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and other leading officials from Latin America and the Caribbean in Beijing to underscore that China intends to keep a firm foothold in that region. Many Latin American governments also want to keep Beijing onside — chiefly as an economic partner, but for some also as a counterweight to U.S. power, experts said.

       “What the people of Latin America and the Caribbean seek are independence and self-determination, not the so-called ‘new Monroe Doctrine,’” China’s assistant foreign minister, Miao Deyu, told reporters in Beijing on Sunday, according to the People’s Daily, nodding to President James Monroe’s declaration of 1823, warning European powers not to interfere in the Americas.

       The U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said that the Trump administration will be “putting our region, the Americas, first,” and Mr. Rubio’s first overseas trip as secretary was to Panama, Guatemala and other countries in the region. But Mr. Trump’s sweeping tariffs and threats to take over the Panama Canal have unsettled leaders in Latin America, especially in countries already wary of Washington.

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       Even if Mr. Trump is not singled out by name in official statements from Mr. Xi’s meetings with Mr. Lula, and possibly other Latin American officials, the implication will be clear.

       Tracking Trump’s First 100 Days ？ The Trump administration’s previous actions on North American tariffs

       April 11 Said that a growing water debt that Mexico owes the United States under a 1944 treaty could lead to higher tariffs and sanctions ？ April 10 Threatened additional tariffs and sanctions against Mexico, alleging a dispute over water rights between the two countries ？ March 31 Said there would be no exemptions for tariffs set to begin on April 2 ？ March 29 Said he ‘couldn’t care less’ if car prices went up in response to his tariffs ？ March 26 Announced 25 percent tariffs on imported cars and car parts ？ Earlier entries about North American tariffs

       See every major action by the Trump administration ？

       China Courts Lula and Latin America After Trump’s Tariff Shock - The New York Times

       “Lula sees China as a partner in rebalancing global power, not just a trade partner but a geopolitical counterweight to U.S. hegemony,” said Matias Spektor, a professor of politics and international relations at Funda？？o Getulio Vargas, a Brazilian university. “Lula’s strategy is clear: diversify Brazil’s alliances, reduce dependency on Washington, and assert Brazil as a mover and shaker in an increasingly multipolar world.”

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