US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast has warned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of “Chinese malign influence” in a bid for a major contract in Argentina, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The April 23 letter concerns an auction for a 25-year contract to dredge and operate Argentina’s Parana River, a vital waterway for most of ‌the country’s agricultural exports, that Argentina estimates will reach US$10 billion in investment.

The terms of the tender, which is in its final phase with a decision expected in the coming days, explicitly barred state-owned companies, preventing bids from Chinese firms.

But Mast alleged that China was attempting “to circumvent that choice through a private sector proxy”. There is “serious concern” that Jan De Nul, a Belgian dredging company vying for the contract, “maintains deep and ongoing links to PRC state-owned entities” through Servimagnus, an Argentine firm that is part of Jan De Nul’s consortium, the letter claimed.

Jan De Nul has managed the Parana ⁠waterway for decades and is competing for the contract against the Deme Group, whose consortium includes investment firm KKR & Co and US-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation. In ‌the bid’s point-score system, Jan De Nul has been ahead.

The Trump administration, a close ally of Argentina’s President Javier Milei, has expressed concern about Chinese influence in Latin America, including Argentina, where Beijing in March was its second-largest trading partner.