A New Chapter for Chinese Capital

Chinese investment in Argentina already stands at about twenty three point three billion dollars, built up across energy, mining and infrastructure. Since 2024, Argentina has added something new to that relationship, a legal framework built specifically to give large investors certainty that lasts for decades rather than years.

As of October 2026, Argentina had approved fifty six billion dollars in projects under RIGI, the country’s Large Investment Incentive Regime, with another hundred and fifty billion dollars of applications still under evaluation, a pipeline that has kept growing since the regime opened. For a Chinese company weighing its next move in Latin America, the scale of that pipeline matters more than any single announcement.

The Thirty Year Guarantee

RIGI protects a qualifying project from unfavorable changes to tax, customs and foreign exchange rules for thirty years from the date it joins. A project already inside the regime cannot be taxed more heavily later, even if Argentina’s general rules change, though it still benefits whenever those general rules become lighter.

To qualify, a project generally needs a minimum of two hundred million dollars in computable assets, with higher floors for certain sectors, such as three hundred million dollars for gas production aimed at export. Once inside the regime, a project pays corporate income tax of 25 percent, together with accelerated depreciation, unlimited carryforward of tax losses and a withholding tax on dividends of 7 percent, falling to 3.5 percent after seven years.

The regime also removes import duties on capital goods bought for the project, lifts export duties after three years, and progressively lifts the requirement to convert export earnings into pesos, reaching full exemption by the fourth year. Eligible sectors include energy, mining, infrastructure, technology, forestry, tourism and oil and gas, the same industries where Chinese companies have already shown the deepest interest in Argentina.

Where Chinese Capital Has Already Moved

The regime is not just a proposal on paper. In July 2026, Argentina’s RIGI committee approved a seven hundred and nine million dollars expansion of the Tres Quebradas lithium project in Catamarca province, run by Liex, the Argentine arm of China’s Zijin Mining. The approval gives the expanded project the same thirty year stability available to any other qualifying investor, alongside companies such as Rio Tinto, POSCO and Glencore. A 2026 decree has also extended the window to join the regime until July 2027.

That lithium project sits inside a much larger pattern of Chinese capital already working in Argentina. CNOOC, one of China’s state owned oil majors, holds half of Bridas through a three point one billion dollars investment, while Shandong Gold paid just over one billion dollars for a stake in Barrick’s Veladero mine. Chinese bank financing built the Belgrano Cargas freight railway, a two point one billion dollars line now in operation, while direct investment built the Loma Blanca wind farms, worth five hundred million dollars and already generating power.

None of this removes the ordinary risks of investing abroad. Regulatory approval is not the same as a finished project, and commodity prices such as lithium remain volatile enough that even an approved expansion can take years to show a return. A guarantee meant to last thirty years will also only hold its value if it is applied consistently for all thirty of them, which is why Chinese companies weighing Argentina still pair the regime with ordinary legal and commercial groundwork rather than relying on the guarantee alone.

A Trade Relationship on the Rise

Beyond individual projects, Argentina and China have kept the financial plumbing between them in place. In 2026, the two central banks renewed a currency swap line worth about nineteen billion dollars for another five years, giving Argentina continued access to renminbi liquidity should it choose to draw on it.

Trade has moved in the same direction. Argentina’s exports to China rose 78 percent in the first four months of 2026 alone, with lithium accounting for roughly a quarter of that total, a reminder that the opportunity for Chinese companies in Argentina runs well beyond mining and energy projects built under RIGI.

A regime like RIGI changes the calculation for a Chinese company deciding whether, and how, to enter Argentina, but it does not remove the need for careful structuring. Choosing the right vehicle, meeting the investment and documentation deadlines, and coordinating tax treatment across Argentina, China and any other jurisdiction involved all shape whether a project captures the benefits on paper or loses them in practice.

DP Group’s network of lawyers, tax advisors and finance professionals covers Argentina alongside the rest of Latin America’s major markets, supporting Chinese and European companies at every stage of entry, from choosing a vehicle and preparing a RIGI application to structuring the deal and managing ongoing compliance once a project is running.

Every opportunity in Argentina, whether a lithium project in Catamarca, a stake in Vaca Muerta, Argentina’s shale basin, or a new plant built under RIGI, starts with decisions of this kind. DP Group has guided Chinese and European companies through such decisions across Latin America, and supports clients doing business across China, Europe and Latin America. An initial conversation with the team is often enough to turn a promising idea into a clear plan, and companies preparing to enter Argentina are welcome to contact DP Group to begin that process.

Sources

1. Buenos Aires Times, “Chinese investment in Argentina tops US$23 billion, defying Milei’s alignment with Trump,” https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/economy/chinese-investment-in-argentina-tops-us23-billion-defying-mileis-alignment-with-trump.phtml

2. Industrial Info Resources, “Argentina Reports US$56 Billion in RIGI Approvals,” https://www.industrialinfo.com/news/article/argentina-reports-us56-billion-in-rigi-approvals–363415

3. Pampa Investment, “Argentina’s RIGI Regime: Complete Guide for Foreign Investors (2025 to 2026),” https://pampainvestment.com/rigi-guide

4. CFI.co, “Rules over Discretion: What a Chinese-Owned Lithium Expansion Says About Argentina’s Investment Regime,” https://cfi.co/latinamerica/2026/07/rules-over-discretion-what-a-chinese-owned-lithium-expansion-says-about-argentinas-investment-regime/

5. IntelliNews, “Argentina Renews $19bn China Swap Line for Five More Years,” https://www.intellinews.com/argentina-renews-19bn-china-swap-line-for-five-more-years-459346

6. AgroLatam, “China Overtakes Brazil in Key Months as Argentina’s Exports Surge 78%,” https://www.agrolatam.com/news/china-argentina-exports-surge-brazil-trade-rivalry-2026/