The recent Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles was Washington’s big push to showcase the importance of multilateral forums in Latin America and the Caribbean as a shaping tool for developing a regional agenda and fostering coordination. Of course, the administration of President Joe Biden did not extend an invitation to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but China was on everyone’s mind. “It’s much better for us… to have a supply chain here in the Americas than it is for us to be dependent on a supply chain that comes from China,” U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar told reporters at the event. For better or for worse, the summit was Washington’s show and focused on crafting a coordinated agenda for the region as well as showcasing the numerous points of weakness in Washington’s regional engagement, primarily stemming from the evolving political dynamics of the region. But throughout the summit, it was clear that Washington’s agenda was deeply rooted in its underlying concerns over the PRC’s ambitions in the Americas and its ongoing efforts to build relationships with the region’s various multilateral institutions to support Chinese national objectives and those of Chinese companies in the region.