China megaport opens up Latin America as wary US looks on 16 hours ago Robert Plummer BBC News As the world waits to see how the return of Donald Trump will reshape relations between Washington and Beijing, China has just taken decisive action to entrench its position in Latin America.
The most strident warnings have come from Gen Laura Richardson, who has just retired as chief of US Southern Command, which covers Latin America and the Caribbean.
Even if that prospect never materialises, there is a strong perception that the US is losing ground in Latin America as China forges ahead with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Of course, Latin America is not the only part of the world targeted by the BRI.
But for successive US leaders, Latin America has been seen primarily in terms of illegal migration and illegal drugs.
As the cautious US watches, a Chinese megaport opens up Latin America.
16 hours prior.
Plummer, Robert.
NBC News.
While the world awaits the impact of Donald Trump’s return on the relationship between Washington and Beijing, China recently made a bold move to solidify its position in Latin America.
On a platform that called for tariffs of up to 60% on goods made in China, Trump won the US presidential election. But further south, a brand-new megaport supported by China could open up completely new trade routes that avoid North America completely.
The fact that President Xi Jinping himself was present at the Chancay port’s inauguration this week on the Peruvian coast shows how seriously China takes the development.
Xi attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum’s (Apec) annual meeting in Peru. However, everyone’s attention was focused on Chancay and what it revealed about China’s increasing assertiveness in an area that the US has historically considered to be within its borders.
Washington is now paying the price for years of disregard for its neighbors’ needs, according to seasoned observers.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington’s Monica de Bolle, a senior fellow, says that “things have really reconfigured in the past decade because the US has been absent from Latin America for so long and China has moved in so rapidly.”.
“America’s backyard is directly interacting with China,” she tells the BBC. “That is going to cause issues. “..”.
Prior to its opening, the $3.5bn (£2.75bn) project, which was spearheaded by China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping, had transformed a sleepy fishing town in Peru into a logistical powerhouse that would revolutionize the nation’s economy.
The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, referred to it as “a vindication of China-Peru win-win co-operation.”.
Similar enthusiasm was expressed by Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, who called the megaport a “nerve center” that would offer “a point of connection to access the gigantic Asian market.”.
However, the consequences extend well beyond the fortunes of a single Andean country. Products from Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, and even Brazil are anticipated to travel through Chancay on their way to Shanghai and other Asian ports once it is completely operational.
The region’s exports, such as Chilean copper and Brazilian soybeans, are already highly sought after by China. With this new port, shipping times will be reduced from 35 to 23 days and larger ships can now be handled.
But both imports and exports will be favored by the new port. Chile and Brazil have eliminated their tax exemptions for individual consumers on low-value foreign purchases as evidence mounts that an influx of low-cost Chinese goods purchased online may be threatening domestic manufacture.
Chancay can handle Chinese warships if it can handle ultra-large container ships, as anxious US military hawks have noted.
The most adamant cautions have come from Gen. Laura Richardson, the recently retired head of US Southern Command, which is responsible for Latin America and the Caribbean.
She said that China was “playing the ‘long game’ with its development of dual-use sites and facilities throughout the region” and that these locations might become “strategic naval chokepoints and points of future multi-domain access for the [People’s Liberation Army].”.
There is a strong sense that the United States is losing ground in Latin America as China continues to advance its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), even if that possibility never comes to pass.
During his first and final trip to South America during his four-year term, outgoing US President Joe Biden was one of the leaders attending the Apec summit. According to media analysts, he appeared less powerful than China’s Xi.
While the US was taking Latin America for granted, Xi was traveling there frequently and fostering positive relationships, according to Prof. Álvaro Méndez, director of the London School of Economics’ Global South Unit.
He claims that “the United States has set the bar so low that China only needs to be a little bit better to get through the door.”.
It goes without saying that the BRI is not limited to Latin America. China’s extraordinary infrastructure investment since 2023 has brought capital to almost 150 nations worldwide.
Many projects have remained unfinished, and many developing nations that participated in Beijing’s generosity have ended up with a heavy debt load as a result. The outcomes have not always been positive.
According to Ms. de Bolle of the Peterson Institute, both right-wing and left-wing governments have overcome their early misgivings about China because “their interests are aligned” with Beijing’s: “They have lowered their guard out of sheer necessity.”. “.
Ms. de Bolle claims that since Beijing has now gained “a very strong foothold” in the area at a time when President-elect Trump is seeking to “rein in” China, the US has good reason to be alarmed by this development.
According to her, “I think we will finally start to see the US putting pressure on Latin America because of China,” noting that the majority of nations wish to remain on the sides of both huge powers.
“The area is not required to make a decision unless it is compelled to, which would be extremely foolish. “,”.
Going forward, Trump may try to renegotiate or even sever bilateral free trade agreements with South American nations like Peru, Chile, and Colombia, making them susceptible to pressure.
They will be closely observing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is being negotiated in 2025 but is scheduled for review in July 2026.
Regardless of the outcome, LSE Professor Méndez believes that greater cooperation is needed in the area.
“Every path should not lead to Washington or Beijing. He points to the challenge of getting 33 nations to agree on a single strategy, saying, “Latin America needs to find a more strategic way, it needs a coherent regional strategy.”.
Vice-president Eric Farnsworth of the Council of the Americas, a group based in Washington, believes that although there is still a lot of goodwill toward the United States in Latin America, the northern neighbor is failing to meet the region’s “massive needs.”.
“If there was a meaningful alternative to China, people would choose the US, so the US needs to up its game in the region,” he tells the BBC.
He sees some hope in the incoming Trump administration, unlike many others, particularly Marco Rubio’s appointment as secretary of state.
He claims, “Rubio has a real sense of a need to engage with the Western Hemisphere economically in a way that we just haven’t done for a number of years.”.
However, Latin America has primarily been associated with illegal migration and illegal drugs for successive US leaders. There is also little sign that the US will change course anytime soon, as Trump is focused on plans to deport record numbers of immigrants.
Like the rest of the world, Latin America is preparing for a challenging four years, and the region could be caught in the crossfire if the US and China launch a full-scale trade war.
