Two recent photographs tell the story of the battle for primacy between the US and China in one of the world’s most resource-rich regions.
In both images, President Xi Jinping stands front and centre, flanked by his Latin American host. President Joe Biden, on the other hand, lingers near the end of the back row in one picture and is absent from the other.
Naturally, there are official explanations. In the first picture at last week’s Apec summit in Peru, leaders stood in alphabetical order, which favoured China over a rival superpower starting with U. In the second, shot at this week’s G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, US diplomats said the group photo was taken early, before Biden had arrived.
您已阅读15%（699字），剩余85%（3819字）包含更多重要信息，订阅以继续探索完整内容，并享受更多专属服务。