By ZHOU QING*
The faster China's economic and trade relations with Latin America increase and the larger the scale of these relations, the greater the US's concerns and vigilance.
The United States appears to be deeply concerned about China’s growing economic presence in Latin America. It can even be argued that the faster China’s economic and trade relations with Latin America increase and the larger the scale of China’s projects in Latin America, the greater the United States’ concerns and vigilance. In recent years, one of the main focuses of such an American diplomatic offensive has been the construction of the port of Chancay in Peru.
According to the newspaper Washington Post and other media reports, the Joe Biden administration has repeatedly expressed “concerns about the Chancay port” to the Peruvian government, because “the United States believes that the Chancay port will strengthen China’s control over strategic ports in South America and the Eastern Pacific,” and “the United States is concerned that the Chancay port will allow China to further control Latin American resources and eventually deploy troops near the Chancay port.”
The Port of Chancay is located about 80 kilometers north of Lima, the capital of Peru, facing the Pacific Ocean. The gigantic project, which began in 2021, is almost complete and is expected to begin trial operations by the end of November this year. Its positive impact on the global shipping industry, its contribution to Peru and other South American countries, and the promotion of China’s relations with Latin American countries cannot be underestimated. And, surprisingly, it also tends to benefit the United States.
First, Chancay Port is expected to become a major global shipping hub. Some international media outlets refer to it as “the Singapore port of Latin America” and “the gateway port of Asia to South America.” These comments were not made by chance.
Many international shipping experts, geographers and economists believe that the port of Chancay will change the existing freight logistics pattern in Latin America with the advantages related to time saving, high throughput and high degree of modernization, optimizing the import and export trade channels from Latin America to the Asian and global markets.
This will make it possible for goods from Peru and other countries in the region to leave South America more quickly and conveniently. It can be seen, therefore, that it is not only China that will benefit, but also other Asian countries.
Secondly, Chancay Port is another landmark project created through the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. Economic and trade relations are the anchor and cornerstone of China-Latin America relations. Clearly, the interests of the people of Latin America are largely complementary to the projects linked to the Belt and Road Initiative.
Even before the completion of Chancay Port, the Belt and Road Initiative had already taken root and flourished in Latin America and produced fruitful results. As a result, China’s investment and trade in Latin America have increased significantly in recent years. For example, this year, trade between China and Latin America is on track to reach an unprecedented milestone of about US$500 billion.
There is no doubt that the opening of the Chancay port will make a huge contribution to promoting trade between China and Latin America, as goods from many South American countries will no longer have to be loaded from more distant Atlantic ports and then diverted through the Panama Canal or other sea routes to the Pacific, nor will they have to be transported via longer routes to other Pacific ports. This convenience is, of course, a true example of the results of “win-win” relations.
Thirdly, the Port of Chancay has further strengthened relations between South America and Asia. The geographical location of the Port of Chancay determines its unique advantage in terms of logistics, facing directly to the Pacific Ocean. Thus, the port not only opens a new channel between China and Latin America, but also serves the export trade of other South American countries.
Many products from South American countries will be able to enter the Chinese market and the markets of other Asian countries more quickly in the future, thus making an important contribution to further promoting bilateral trade between Latin America and Asian countries. Therefore, the port of Chancay is undoubtedly another major result of the success of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. It is therefore expected that Peru and other South American countries will see a significant increase in exports not only to China, but also to Japan, South Korea and ASEAN countries.
Fourthly, it is crucial to note that the port of Chancay is also beneficial to the United States. Latin America is, logically, very close to the United States. This reality is determined by geographic conditions and geopolitical factors, and is very unlikely to change in the coming years. The gap between the development of Latin American countries and the United States is large, and few solutions are sought to bridge it, which ends up making the United States a coveted immigration destination for many Latin Americans who are struggling in their daily lives in their countries.
But the United States does not want to open its doors to Latinos. One of the current disputes between the two parties in the United States in the presidential race has been over Latin American immigration. To defeat his opponent in public opinion, Donald Trump has fabricated a series of untruths about Latin American immigrants, with two “fake news” even accusing immigrants of stealing and eating pets.
Furthermore, cocaine and several other types of drugs that enter the US market from the Andean region, the world's largest drug production base, have been used as a central element of immigrant demonization narratives, generating even greater friction in relations between the United States and Latin American countries from time to time.
Needless to say, long-standing problems between the United States and Latin America, such as illegal immigration and drug smuggling, are directly related to the problems of underdevelopment, and the resulting unemployment and poverty rates in Latin America. China's economic presence in Latin America offers many opportunities for countries in the region to accelerate economic development.
Many studies by the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and ECLAC have shown that without economic and trade relations between China and Latin America, Latin American economies would lose many percentage points in their growth rate.
Economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America has enabled positive results to be achieved in recent decades in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction, partly reversing the patterns of stagnation of the 1980s and 1990s. A more prosperous Latin America is undoubtedly good not only for the countries in the region, with the standard of living of their people improving, but also for Americans who so often demonize the effects of the ills of underdevelopment in neighboring countries, which lead to the spread of illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
After all, dilemmas such as those that exist on the border between the United States and Mexico can only be definitively resolved through structural measures that involve economic growth, job creation, income distribution and the reduction of asymmetries and difficulties that afflict the countries of the region in different ways.
In this sense, the United States should not be concerned about China’s economic presence in Latin America. On the contrary, it should join forces with the Chinese and Latin Americans to increase the volume of “win-win” relations, from which Latin America, China, the United States and all those committed to building a global order based on cooperation, peace and development will benefit.
*Zhou Qing and presearcher at the Center for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University.
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