Under an agreement signed by President Xi Jinping in 2016 with Chile's Catholic University of the North (UCN), the Ventarrones Astronomical Park was to be built in Chile's Atacama desert -- home to the world's darkest skies and numerous other observatories.

"The project is under review, it is not canceled," the foreign ministry in Santiago said in a statement, without providing reasons.

The ministry said its legal department was studying the agreement and had contacted the UCN and the Chinese embassy for more information.

UCN said it had made the requested data available. The embassy said the observatory was "an open and transparent international initiative."

It complained, however, that "certain countries (that) maintain hundreds of military bases abroad with tens of thousands of stationed troops... allow themselves to criticize and interfere in legitimate technological cooperations between other nations."

Without referring to the project, the US embassy in Santiago said Washington "has long been clear in expressing its concern about China's Civilian-Military Fusion Strategy and the links it creates between the People's Liberation Army, China's civilian space programs, and Chinese academic and scientific organizations."

In a message sent to AFP, the embassy's press section underlined that "we cannot live in a world where China has more influence and presence than we do in our region."

It added: "The growing role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Western Hemisphere threatens the interests of the United States."

The United States for two centuries claimed Latin America as part of its sphere of influence. China has, however, been making inroads.

Two-thirds of Latin American countries have joined Xi's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure program, and China has surpassed the United States as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru, Chile and several other countries.