China is ready to work with Argentina to keep relations on a "steady" course, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, after the presidential election victory of a right-wing libertarian who said he will not deal with communists.

Presidential candidate of the Liberty Advances coalition Javier Milei, right, and his girlfriend Fatima Florez wave to supporters outside his campaign headquarters after winning the runoff election in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Argentinian president-elect Javier Milei has criticised China and Brazil, which are among his country's most important trading partners. A few months ago, Milei even likened the Chinese government to an "assassin" and said the people of China were "not free".

Milei's tough talk on China stands in sharp contrast with a vow of cooperation by the outgoing president, Alberto Fernandez, who visited Beijing last month and hailed China as a "true friend" of Argentina.

Fernandez also pledged coordination with China under frameworks such as the G20 and BRICS.

"Bilateral relations between China and Argentina have shown sound momentum of growth," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

"China stands ready to work with Argentina to keep our relations on a steady course forward," she said.

But Diana Mondino, an economist tipped to become foreign minister in the Milei government, was quoted as saying by Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti that Argentina would "stop interacting" with the governments of China and Brazil, when asked whether Argentina would encourage exports and imports with those countries.

Mondino has previously told Reuters that Argentina under Milei had no intention of joining the BRICS grouping, which includes China and Russia. Argentina was among six countries invited to become new members of BRICS, a bloc whose members also include Brazil, India and South Africa.

Mao, asked at a regular news conference about the comments attributed to Mondino, said the characterisation of Mondino's comments was different from the interview published by RIA Novosti.

"Mondino said in the interview that some in the world misread President-elect Milei's foreign policy," Mao said.

"No countries could step out of diplomatic relations and still be able to engage in economic trade and cooperation. It would be a huge foreign policy mistake for Argentina to cut ties with major countries like China or Brazil," Mao said.

The Chinese foreign ministry said later on Tuesday that Mao was citing Mondino as saying it would be a mistake to cut ties with China or Brazil.

Reuters could not immediately find a version of the interview containing those comments. Mondino did not respond to a Reuters request to clarify her comments to RIA Novosti.

Earlier this month, Mondino said Argentina had no problem trading with Brazil, and as for China, Milei would seek to end opaque state-to-state deals.

"What we are not going to do are secret contracts. Argentina, this government, in the last 20 years, has had multiple secret negotiations," she said. "That is not normal and it is what we have said we are not going to do."

Chinese state media has so far played down Milei's comments but said it would be Argentina's loss if it were to shut China out of its market.

Here’s what Sen. Mike Lee had to say about Javier Milei’s victory.

Former President Trump congratulated Argentina’s newly elected president Javier Milei following the far-right libertarian’s electoral victory Sunday.

“Congratulations to Javier Milei on a great race for President of Argentina,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“The whole world was watching! I am very proud of you. You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!” Trump added.

Milei, a right-wing populist figure who got his start in television, has been frequently compared to Trump.

With nearly all the votes from Sunday’s runoff election counted, Milei won 55.7 percent of the vote, and Economy Minister Sergio Massa won 44.3 percent, The Associated Press reported.

Ahead of the election, Milei levied claims of voter fraud without providing evidence, and he claimed the first round of voting in October was plagued by irregularities. He has also pledged to eliminate bureaucratic ministries.

In his victory speech Sunday, Milei declared that the “reconstruction of Argentina begins today.”

“Argentina’s situation is critical. The changes our country needs are drastic. There is no room for gradualism, no room for lukewarm measures,” Milei said, according to the AP.

The outlet reported that supporters were chanting “Liberty, liberty!” and, referring to the political class, chanted, “Let them all leave!”

Other conservative public figures celebrated Milei’s victory.

Former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson reposted a photo with Milei following news of the victory. Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro also shared reporting of the election and wrote, “Awesome news.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) congratulated Milei on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote, “Argentina God bless you!!”

Argentina Elects Bitcoin-Friendly President Javier Milei.

Javier Milei has been elected president of Argentina after winning over 55% of the votes in Sunday's national runoff election.

Source: Bloomberg

With 99% of votes counted, Milei secured over 14 million votes while Massa garnered over 11 million votes, according to election officials. Massa called Milei on Sunday evening to concede the election before any official results were announced.

Milei will be sworn into office on December 10th. His rise to the presidency comes amid skyrocketing inflation in Argentina, which has robbed citizens of their purchasing power. The Argentine peso has lost over 140% of its value against the US dollar in the last year.

As a vocal critic of central banking, Milei has referred to the Argentine central bank as a "scam" that allows politicians to "cheat the good people with inflationary tax." He advocates replacing the peso with the US dollar to restore stability.

While Milei has not proposed making Bitcoin legal tender, he has praised it as a return of money creation "to its original creator, the private sector." His staunch free-market views have found fertile ground in Argentina's climate of economic uncertainty.

Sunday's election marks a dramatic political realignment for Argentina, which has suffered from economic mismanagement for decades. Milei has gained a fervent following among youth and libertarians with his unconventional views.