The Peruvian capital, Lima, barricaded itself to receive the heads of state and representatives of twenty-one countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), on November 15 and 16, including the US president, Joe Biden, and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. . The metropolis mobilized 13,000 police officers and declared three holidays, starting on Thursday, November 14, to limit the movement of 10 million inhabitants. Some 600 US soldiers are also present, while the population takes advantage of the summit to denounce the violence of gangs linked to drug trafficking.
In Lima, this year, the Chinese president will receive the honors of the host country: Xi Jinping is also making a state visit, which was to begin on Thursday with the inauguration, remotely, of a gigantic Chinese deep-water port, in Chancay. a small town located 75 kilometers north of the capital.
A simple fishing port until six years ago, the place attracted the Chinese shipowner Cosco Shipping Ports, thanks to its 18 meters of draft that will be able to accommodate the largest cargo ships, transporting up to 18,000 containers at a time. Installed on 141 hectares, the port has already cost 1.3 billion dollars (1.2 billion euros) to a consortium of which Cosco owns 60%, with the Peruvian mining operator Volcan, and could represent, in the long term, an investment of 3,500 million dollars. in the city of 60,000 inhabitants. It would later become one of the main ports in Latin America. And a showcase of the “new silk routes”, this vast economic-diplomatic project that marks the course of Chinese investments abroad, mainly in infrastructure. As long as it is a success.
“Real economic needs”
Because the ambitious project, which represents 1.3% of Peruvian GDP, is reminiscent of certain “white elephants”, projects that were too heavy for the developing countries that received them. Chancay, despite its high cost, should avoid this pitfall: “It was not a political project. Initially, the order came from mining companies, Chinese and non-Chinese, that already had investments in Peru. This meets real economic needs.explains Bruno Binetti, researcher at the London School of Economics and author of a thesis on Chinese investments in Latin America.
Another advance regarding certain projects of the “new Silk Roads”, Chancay will advance in several phases, with the opening of four docks this year and up to fifteen that could be built depending on future demand. “The final project is very ambitious, but construction has not yet started: this approach is increasingly common for Chinese companies in Latin America: they are more cautious and carry out serious market studies”Binetti specifies. Mineral exports should already guarantee the viability of the port, the researcher believes. Peru is the second largest producer of copper in the world, of which 67% goes to China.
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