Mega-port reshapes China-Latin America trade amid US tariff threats
US$3.5 billion Chancay port will initially be able to handle 1 million containers a year
Zhang Jun assiduously followed the news as Chancay port in Peru was developed into the biggest deep water project of its kind on the long Pacific coast of South America.
His Nanjing-based company, Jiangsu Haosanyou Information Technology, helps shippers of marine cargo find business along China’s supply chains via the internet. For Zhang, the US$3.5 billion mega-port, which was inaugurated on November 14, foreshadows a boom in Chinese e-commerce in Latin America, where conventional Chinese trade is already growing.
The newly opened container port will shave 10 to 12 days off shipment times between Shanghai and Peru, reducing transit times to around 23 days. It will also cut logistics costs for shipments between China and Peru by at least 20 per cent, the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported.
Zhang said the efficiency of China’s logistics sector should be able to wow South American consumers.
“In this industry we’ve all got the idea to go overseas,” Zhang said at a logistics expo in Hong Kong in mid-November.
“We’re aiming to take mature investments from inside China to the rest of the world. In the future, private companies like ours will be looking favourably at these investments. South America is a big opportunity for us.”
