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Chinese port in Latin America promises to generate 8 jobs and move up to US$4,5 billion per year, after investment of US$3 billion
The relationship between China and Latin America has gained a new chapter with the inauguration of an imposing port in Peru, a strategic infrastructure with investments exceeding US$ 3 billion. The new port of Chancay, about 80 km from Lima, emerges as a powerful connection between the Pacific and global markets, reinforcing China's role as a crucial economic partner for the region.
A gateway for investment in Latin America
The port's inauguration takes place at a significant moment, preceding the forum of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and an important meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden.
This event illustrates Beijing’s growing influence in Latin America, which for years was a stronghold of US influence. Now, the investment in the Chancay port signals that the balance of power is changing and that China is here to stay.
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With Chinese companies deeply involved in nearly every aspect of the port’s construction and operation, Chancay has become a symbol of this influence. In 2019, shipping giant Cosco bought a 60 percent stake in the project for $1,3 billion, setting up a high-tech logistics hub.
From automated cranes supplied by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries to electric and autonomous trucks manufactured by Chinese companies, the operation stands out as a milestone of innovation in the South American port sector.
Why is the port of Chancay so strategic?
The port of Chancay is not just an export route. products Peruvians. It represents a connection point between trade between Asia and South America, functioning as a hub that can serve large ships that do not fit through the Panama Canal.
This infrastructure, therefore, represents a competitive alternative to the region's traditional ports, capable of reducing the time and cost of commercial operations.
The economic impact is so significant that Peruvian President Dina Boluarte described the port as a potential “nerve center” to unite the continent with Asia.
Boluarte points out that the project is expected to generate around 8.000 jobs and generate up to US$4,5 billion in economic activity annually. For Peru, the port opens up export possibilities and even the chance to become a base for automakers, such as Chinese electric car maker BYD.
A security concern for the United States
While the project is being welcomed by China and Peru, it has also raised alarm bells in the United States. The level of Chinese investment and interest in Chancay has raised concerns that the port could serve as a base for Chinese military operations in Latin America.
U.S. officials including former U.S. Southern Command chief Gen. Laura Richardson have expressed concern that the port could serve as a “window” for a Chinese military presence, even though China denies any military intentions in the project.
This type of concern, however, is not echoed in Peru, where the prospect of a cutting-edge technology hub and a new source of investment is widely welcomed.
As researcher Leolino Dourado, from the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at the Universidad del Pacífico, explains, Latin American countries are focused on selling their products and attracting investment, which weakens any rhetoric of fear coming from abroad.
The Belt and Road Initiative and its expansion in Latin America
The Chancay port is another piece of the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a strategic plan that Xi Jinping launched in 2013 to develop infrastructure and global connectivity. So far, the BRI comprises a network of more than 40 ports around the world, reinforcing China’s presence in key regions for trade and diplomacy.
While Beijing insists the project is purely commercial, Chinese analysts have suggested the port represents a geopolitical victory that requires protection from U.S. interference. That view reinforces the notion that China sees Chancay not just as a trade route but as a strategic hub in its global influence drive.
A future for Sino-Peruvian trade
The opening of the Chancay port is expected to boost trade between Peru and China, which has been the South American country’s largest trading partner for a decade. In 2023, trade between the two nations reached $36 billion, nearly double the $21 billion that Peru traded with the United States in the same period.
In addition to facilitating trade, Chancay could help China expand its mining operations in Peru. Peru is currently the second-largest producer of raw copper in South America, and China is interested in securing copper supplies for its technology and clean energy industries, sectors that depend on this strategic metal.
Local controversies over port operation
While the port is widely celebrated, not everyone in Peru is entirely happy with the project. The concession process has been controversial, and the country’s port authority tried to change the terms of the deal with Cosco, claiming an administrative error in granting exclusive operating rights for 30 years. The lawsuit was withdrawn in June, just days before Boluarte was due to travel to China for a meeting with Xi.
For many Peruvians, the Chinese presence is no longer viewed with the same strangeness as it was years ago. The advance of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America shows that local economies are willing to embrace new allies, especially those that bring tangible opportunities for growth and innovation.
The role of the port in the geopolitical scenario
The inauguration of the port of Chancay represents a turning point for Peru and all of Latin America. With the potential to transform the country into an export hub for the rest of the continent and connect it to the Asian market, Chancay reinforces China’s role in redefining global trade routes.
Furthermore, the port offers a unique opportunity for Peru to diversify its economy, attract new investments and open doors to technological development.
In short, Chancay’s project illustrates how the Belt and Road Initiative is reshaping Latin America’s economic and geopolitical landscape. While China sees Latin America as a strategic extension of its trading power, countries like Peru are seizing the opportunity to expand their own economic ambitions and connect to a global network of investment and innovation.
China, with its large-scale projects and bilateral trade, is occupying the place that was previously just the US's backyard.
The United States has never prioritized Latin America as a neighbor. Proof of this is that Latin American countries have the worst development rates, both human and socioeconomic and educational.
The US helped rebuild post-war Europe, invested heavily in countries in the Middle East, Asia, etc., financing wars that cost trillions of dollars, such as the Vietnam, Korea, Iran-Uraq, Iraq-Kuwait, Afghanistan wars. It financed and created monsters like Bin Laden, Putin in Russia, etc. Even China benefited from the US with the transfer of capital and technology to the Asian giant that will even surpass the American economy. Now, they are creating international conflicts in a world increasingly involved in wars and disputes for political hegemony.
Just to give an example, we have the case of Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Americas, which is in the backyard of the United States. They never looked at the critical situation of the country. If they had oil and geopolitical strategies, they would have already intervened in the country under various pretexts, just as they did with Iraq and Afghanistan and then abandoned the countries in political, economic and humanitarian crises.
I fully agree
Countries do not have friends, they have interests. This is what all economically successful countries in the world do. Those who align themselves with an international power or choose a side are at a disadvantage compared to those who negotiate with everyone!
Yes, but a friendly relationship policy solidifies the partnership for the future. An exploitative stance drives partners away.
We have to take away US hegemony.
They want to dominate the world... I hope the Asian countries do everything they can to stop it... lol
I'm in favor of forgetting the ****, that they die with their war machines, the only thing they know how to do. Trash. Let the **** know that the line has moved. Bye!!!!!
Great news for America! If the US doesn't like it, then f*** them. Let them keep building a wall on the border with Mexico.