Beijing Cultivating Goodwill Through Investments, Visits

Chancay, Peru, majority owned by China's state-owned Cosco Shipping and inaugurated in November 2024 by Mr Xi, exemplifies Beijing's ambition to reroute trade flows, bypassing traditional routes like the Panama Canal and linking Chancay to Shanghai.

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FROM B1

The deep-sea port has been described as a game changer and will boost trade between Latin America and Asia, shifting away from the Atlantic Ocean and the route through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean.

Huawei, despite US objections, has also made significant inroads in providing 5G infrastructure across the region, while Chinese banks like the China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of China have become important lenders for countries seeking alternatives to Western financial institutions.

Indeed, the US International Development Finance Corporation, created in 2018 to counter the BRI by offering alternative funding to developing countries, has tried to compete with Chinese lenders without much success because of its inability to match China's scale, speed or strategic clarity.

China has also cultivated goodwill through high-level diplomatic visits — President Xi has visited the region six times since 2013, while President Trump has visited only once in 2018, and only to Argentina for the Group of 20 summit.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, China extended its "vaccine diplomacy" to the region by delivering vaccines, medical equipment and personal protective gear, while the US was mired in domestic troubles.