President Xi Jinping inaugurates Chinese megaport in Peru

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte “virtually” inaugurated the Chancay megaport on Thursday night, a million-dollar infrastructure project financed mostly by the Asian giant under the promise of speeding up trade between the region and Asia. .

While Xi and Boluarte gave approval via video call to the Cosco Shipping Ports team to officially start operations, hundreds of people, in the midst of a party atmosphere, followed the live broadcast through a giant screen installed in the main square. from Chancay, a town located about 80 kilometers north of Lima and where the port is located.

“The construction has been completed. The conditions for the start of operations have been met,” said one of the executives, to which the leaders immediately responded in Spanish and Chinese: “proceed, go ahead.”

Immediately, one of the port’s automated cranes went into action, placing a container wrapped with the Peruvian flag onto a huge cargo ship, with Chinese background music playing in the transmission.

“We are seeing the birth of a new maritime corridor between Asia and Latin America,” said President Xi when speaking at the symbolic event. “It’s a new era,” he said.

He highlighted that it is the first smart port in South America and the reduction of trade routes between the region and China by at least 10 days.

For her part, President Boluarte said that the event “constitutes a historic moment for Peru and all Peruvians” and assured that it begins a process of transforming the country as a “world-class” industrial logistics center that will project us in a “strategic”.

In addition, he highlighted China’s role in the growth of the Peruvian economy.

Signing of agreements

The construction of the megaport by Cosco Shipping Ports required an initial investment of 1.3 billion dollars, to which a further 2.3 billion dollars would be added to expand its facilities. It is expected to move one million containers a year.

President Xi, in an article published by the official newspaper El Peruano in its print edition on Thursday, said that the port would generate annual income of 4.5 billion dollars, more than 8,000 jobs and would reduce logistics costs on the Peru-China route. by 20%.

Before the inauguration, both presidents signed several bilateral cooperation agreements and sealed the optimization protocol of a Free Trade Agreement, in force since 2009, and which is expected to give a new boost to business between the two countries.

Xi arrived in Lima accompanied by a delegation of more than 100 executives from Chinese companies, including heads of companies with the largest investments in Peru, including Cosco Shipping and the mining company Chinalco, owner of the Toromocho copper mine.

He President of the United States, Joe Biden, also arrived in Lima to participate in the APEC Forum. Xi and Biden are expected to meet on Saturday in Lima, before they leave for Brazil for the Group of 20 major economies (G20) summit.

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