China Vows to Help Latin America Build Pacific-Atlantic Railroad

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, wrapped his visit to China on Wednesday, after securing Beijing’s support for building a railroad that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans passing through Peruvian and Brazilian territory.

Following his participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, summit on Monday and Tuesday, Humala met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and local businessmen, who were encouraged by the Peruvian head of state to do business in Peru, citing the country’s stability and favorable investment climate.

Humala was greeted with military honors on his arrival at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He then held a bilateral meeting with President Xi.

During the meeting, Xi said that China will actively participate in construction of the railway, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

After the meeting, the two leaders presided the signing of seven bilateral agreements, one of which was a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a business group that will proceed to establish the so-called “Twin Ocean Railroad Connection” between Peru and Brazil.

The tripartite agreement was signed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Peru, the National Development and Reform Commission of China and the Brazilian Ministry of Transport.

The two presidents also signed an economic cooperation agreement, after which China will grant Peru an amount of $11.5 million. The two sides signed other agreements in the fields of hydrocarbons and mining, in addition to the export to Peru of Chinese-made wheelchairs.

The Chinese President also pledged that his government will play a constructive role in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Lima next December.

Xi called on Humala to cooperate with China in the preparation of the first ministerial meeting between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, to be held in Beijing next year.

Humala told Xi that his country welcomes Chinese companies that wish to participate in the construction of infrastructure in Peru, as well as mining, gas exploration and electricity generation.

Later, Humala took this message in person to a group of Chinese businessmen attending a Peruvian food festival held at a hotel in Beijing, and urged them to invest in his country.

The Peruvian president told the Chinese businessmen Peru has an economic policy that provides the country with stability, pointing out that Chinese businessmen possess all objective advantages to consider investing in Peru, due to the clarity of regulations and the commitment to bilateral agreements, in addition to strong connections between Peru and China.

The Peruvian president also called for collaboration between the public and private sectors in order to have them complement each other and tackle each sector’s shortcomings. Humala presented the same idea last Monday while participating in the APEC summit.

Humala added that they are working in Peru to find the balance that guarantees a friendly climate for investments. Peru ranks second in terms of having the best investment climate in Latin America, according to the World Bank’s latest report.

After concluding his visit to China The Peruvian head of state left to Vatican City to meet Pope Francis, in what will be the last stop in his international tour in which he also paid a visit to Russia.

Published in Latino Daily News