China’s position on US pressure on Bolivia regarding Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and US pressure on the Bolivian president to designate Hamas, Hezbollah, and the IRGC as terrorist organizations can be summarized in several points, most importantly China’s opposition to US interference in Bolivian affairs. Here, China maintains a principled and consistent stance rejecting interference in the internal affairs of states. Regarding Bolivia and Iran, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that “it opposes the use of external pressure or the threat of force in international relations,” emphasizing the need to respect the sovereignty and national independence of states. China strongly condemns the forced regime change in Venezuela as an unprecedented phenomenon internationally. Furthermore, with the increasing US pressure (which included demands for Bolivia to expel Iranian “spies” and designate the IRGC, Hezbollah, and Hamas as terrorist organizations), China called on all parties to “exercise maximum restraint” and resolve differences through dialogue.
This American stance is primarily aimed at confronting China through Bolivia and its new president in Latin America. This comes at a time when Bolivia is undergoing a new political transformation with the inauguration of President “Rodrigo Paz” in late 2025. Paz seeks to mend relations with Washington, which puts China on the defensive as it tries to protect its massive investments (exceeding $6 billion) and reduce Bolivia’s dependence on it in favor of Western partners. China has consistently emphasized that Latin America is “not anyone’s backyard,” stressing Bolivia’s right to choose its international partners and its development path with complete independence, free from external dictates and American pressure. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has condemned, through official statements, attempts by the United States to impose certain policies on Bolivia, such as recent US pressure to expel Iranian citizens or designate certain entities as terrorist organizations, like Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Beijing considers these American actions “political bullying” that violates international law and the principles of the UN Charter.
China’s stance on the current US pressure on Bolivia and its president, Rodrigo Paz, comes within the context of a broader struggle for influence in Latin America, particularly after the recent developments in Venezuela and the ouster of the “Maduro” regime. China rejects pressuring the Bolivian government to support Washington’s agenda and its antagonism toward various parties, adhering to the principle of “non-interference in internal affairs.” China opposes US pressure on countries to adopt specific security positions or designate certain terrorist organizations, such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hamas, and Hezbollah. China firmly supports Bolivia’s sovereignty, emphasizing in its official statements that Latin America is “not anyone’s backyard,” and consistently calls for strengthening its strategic partnership with Bolivia, free from external dictates.
Given that China does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization but rather considers it a political entity, Beijing rejects the use of “terrorist designation” as a tool of geopolitical pressure employed by Washington to curtail the influence of Tehran and its allies in Latin America and the Caribbean. China views this American pressure as part of a broader US campaign to diminish Iranian and Chinese influence in Latin America. Meanwhile, Washington seeks to strengthen its relationship with the new Bolivian president, “Rodrigo Paz,” to steer Bolivia away from the Iran-Russia-Venezuela axis. Therefore, China maintains strong “pragmatic relations” with the new Bolivian president, “La Paz,” and engages in economic cooperation, particularly in vital sectors such as lithium mining.
Regarding China’s stance on the US designation of its allies as terrorist organizations, while there has been no direct Chinese statement specifically addressing the US request to Bolivia to designate several movements and organizations as terrorist organizations, Beijing has historically condemned unilateral US sanctions and designations imposed by Washington outside the framework of the United Nations, considering them a violation of international law and the fundamental norms of international relations.
As for the connection between the “US pressures on the Bolivian regime to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the pressure to designate several organizations as terrorist” and China’s growing influence in Latin America and the Caribbean after the fall of the pro-China Maduro regime in Venezuela, Washington aims, through all these successive pressures, to distance China, and subsequently Russia and their allies like Iran, from the political and economic landscape in Latin America, South America, and the Caribbean. This is part of a broader US strategy to undermine China’s credibility as a security actor in the region.
With the American desire to pursue a policy of “repositioning in Bolivia,” meaning that Washington is currently betting on the new Bolivian government led by President Rodrigo Paz to reduce the influence of the “axis of adversaries” (Iran, China, and Russia). However, China is attempting to maintain its influence there in the face of American interventionist policies through China’s pursuit of a policy of economic dependency. Bolivia relies heavily on China as a “lender of last resort” and has already begun paying for its imports in Chinese yuan. Furthermore, China employs economic diplomacy in its relations with Bolivia and its new president, “Paz.” China believes its influence is “market-driven” and not based on military bases, making its expulsion from the region economically difficult despite the political changes.
The objectives of American pressure on the Bolivian regime and the Chinese response to it lie in the American attempt to exploit the “unique opportunity” in Bolivia to curtail Iran’s influence by expelling Iranian spies from within Bolivia and designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Washington aims to establish a new reality that reduces the space available for China and Russia to operate in its backyard of South America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. On the other hand, Beijing is pursuing a countermeasure. China’s silence on these American provocations, despite its ongoing verbal criticism of the US’s hostile policies and pressure, reflects its tendency to avoid direct military confrontation in Latin America. Instead, China prefers to bolster its influence through its Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. This includes intensifying its massive presence at the Chancaidí port in Peru and on the Bolivian border and securing Chinese control over the energy and electricity sectors there. This ensures long-term influence that is difficult to reverse with temporary US political decisions.
To counter US pressure on Bolivia in its dealings with China, China is working to deepen its relationship with Bolivia, describing it as a “friend and brother” on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2025. Beijing also supports Bolivia’s membership in international groups like BRICS to strengthen its position against the global order dominated by Western powers and Washington. Furthermore, it is pursuing direct diplomatic confrontation with Washington, accusing the US of deliberately “sowing discord” between China and Latin American countries by using the specter of a “China threat”. As a pretext for achieving selfish gains at the expense of the stability of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Accordingly, we understand China’s position supporting the stability of Iran and Bolivia, its rejection of designating movements and organizations as terrorist without consulting the United Nations, and Beijing’s rejection of American pressure, which it sees as an attempt to impose Washington’s geopolitical will in Latin America and the Caribbean. China has emphasized that it will continue to protect its “legitimate rights and interests” in the face of any American escalation of tariffs or political pressure exerted on its allies anywhere in the world.threat.”
