Peru's mega-port financed by China takes centre stage at the APEC summit in Lima
Coinciding with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) 2024, the Peruvian President, Dina Boluarte, and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, inaugurated, remotely, the mega-port of Chancay, located some 70 kilometres from Lima.
The construction of this port, which aims to become a commercial corridor linking China with Latin America, has been completed in its entirety and the conditions for the start of operations have been met. For this reason, and symbolically, a container of Peruvian blueberries was loaded onto a ship bound for China, while simultaneously, a container with electric vehicles was deposited in a port of Shanghai on a ship bound for Chancay.
Xi affirmed this Thursday in the Peruvian capital that the inauguration of the mega-port of Chancay could become the ‘starting point for forging a new corridor’ between his country and Latin America, as reported by EFE.
The construction of this port, which will be the largest in South America, was led by Cosco Shipping Company, a Chinese state company dedicated to maritime transport, which invested some 3,400 million dollars to build a complex of 15 docks, offices, logistics services and a 2 kilometre long tunnel to handle cargo.
With this port, Beijing is consolidating its presence in Latin America while reinforcing its strategic Belt and Road Initiative, a project it has been developing for years to increase its influence in the world. With the port of Chancay in particular, China will boost its capacity to unload its goods in South America and to ship those it imports from this region, mainly minerals such as lithium and copper and agricultural products such as soya.
Boluarte stressed that the Peruvian government has taken ‘significant steps’ to integrate sustainability into its development strategy, highlighting advances in the transition to clean energy and the improvement of food security. ‘These are the first steps in a commitment that encompasses several areas,’ the President affirmed.
This mega-port has transformed Chacay, a small town where people have traditionally engaged in artisanal fishing. The Peruvian government estimates that the new terminal will generate 7,500 direct and indirect jobs.
In this regard, Boluarte highlighted the need to ensure that the population has access to quality education, as well as technical training and financial resources to develop innovative projects. ‘It is essential that all people can develop their potential,’ said the Peruvian president.
One of the points that Boluarte particularly emphasised was Peru's leadership in establishing guidelines for the development of clean hydrogen and low-carbon emission roadmaps. These initiatives were approved by APEC economies last August, marking a milestone in cooperation to mitigate climate change in the region.
On the sidelines of the summit, the Chinese President was received at the Government Palace in Lima with the highest honours in order to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries. Relations have expanded significantly in recent years in a number of sectors. Xi, for example, mentioned the field of mining and infrastructure, noting that mega-projects between the two countries ‘have been advancing at a steady pace’.
US President Joe Biden is also attending the summit and is scheduled to meet with Xi and Boluarte, with whom he will announce bilateral agreements aimed at strengthening the fight against drug trafficking and infrastructure development.
Biden is also scheduled to attend a trilateral meeting with the new Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. This meeting is aimed at consolidating a strategic alliance in the Asia-Pacific region which, according to the White House, will be institutionalised with the arrival of Donald Trump's new administration next January.