China and Peru jointly build the "Belt and Road" cooperation project------Chancay Port

                                     China and Peru jointly build the "Belt and Road" cooperation project------Chancay Port

Chancay Port is located in Chancay Bay, 78 kilometers north of Lima, the capital of Peru. It is located on the Pacific coast of South America and is a natural deep-water port. The maximum water depth of the port is 17.8 meters, and it can accommodate ultra-large container ships with a capacity of 18,000 TEU.

On the evening of November 14, 2024 local time, President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President jointly attended the opening ceremony of the Chancay Port via video link at the Presidential Palace in Lima.

1. Chancay Port will become an important node of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” in South America

As an important node of China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative in South America, the completion of Chancay Port has significantly enhanced China's economic status and influence in South America. The port further deepens its cooperation with Latin American countries.

Peru's trade volume with China has doubled in the past 10 years, reaching $37.69 billion in 2023. In the past 12 months, Peru's trade with China accounted for 36% of Peru's total foreign trade. China has been Peru's largest trading partner and main export destination for ten consecutive years.

2. It has opened a new trade channel for China and brought new development opportunities to the foreign trade between China and Peru.

The opening of the Chancay Port has reduced China's dependence on the Panama Canal and provided China with a new trade channel. Traditionally, freight between China and South America needs to enter the Atlantic Ocean through the Panama Canal, but the construction of the Port of Chancay provides another efficient option for Central and South American trade, reducing dependence on the Panama Canal. Chancay Port can also connect to other South American countries via land and rail to expand more markets‌.

(1) Reduce logistics costs and transportation time‌

Chancay Port provides Chinese enterprises with a stable export channel, reducing transportation time and costs. It is expected to reduce the transportation time of goods from South America to China from 40 days to 23 days, saving more than 20% of logistics costs, money Kai Port is connected to the Pan-American Highway through a tunnel and reaches the capital Lima, which greatly improves trade convenience. 

(2) Increased trade volume and income, and promoted import and export between China and South American countries.

The opening of the Chancay Port has brought significant economic benefits to Peru. It adds US$4.5 billion in revenue to Peru every year and creates more than 8,000 direct jobs‌. In addition, the designed throughput capacity of Chancay Port is 1 million to 1.5 million TEUs per year, which has greatly increased the import and export trade volume in South America.

(3)Reduce dependence on the Panama Canal‌

Traditionally, freight between China and South America needs to enter the Atlantic Ocean through the Panama Canal, but the construction of the Port of Chancay provides another efficient option for Central and South American trade, reducing China's dependence on the Panama Canal. 

(4) Through the Port of Chancay, Latin American countries such as Chile and Ecuador can conduct transit trade more conveniently.