China-owned Chancay megaport. Credit line: El Comercio / Zuma Press / Profimedia
The Trump administration has expressed concern that Peru could lose its sovereignty to China after a Peruvian court ruling barred the Public Transportation Infrastructure Investment Oversight Authority (Ositrán) from overseeing or intervening in the Chinese-owned Port of Chancay through state-owned Cosco Shipping.
The US State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said it was “concerned by recent reports that Peru may be powerless to police Chancay, one of its largest ports, which is under the jurisdiction of Chinese owners.”
He added: “We support Peru's sovereign right to oversee critical infrastructure on its own territory. Let this be a cautionary tale for the region and the world: cheap Chinese money costs sovereignty.”
The concern comes as the Trump administration seeks to assert its dominance over the Western Hemisphere, where China has long built its influence through massive loans and high trade volumes.
The Chinese government strongly rejected the US comments.
“China firmly opposes and vehemently deplores the rumors of the Chancay port by the US,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference in Beijing.
Chancay, located on the Pacific coast, is part of Beijing's “Belt and Road” initiative, an infrastructure program in which Chinese state banks have provided sizeable loans or financial guarantees to build seaports, airports and highways on several continents.
Just one year after opening, Chancay Port has become a landmark in the Peruvian port system achieving a remarkable performance by operating nearly 300,000 containers.
The port was inaugurated on 14 November 2024 in a ceremony attended online by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
As the largest port in Latin America, Chancay can dock some of the world's largest cargo ships traveling between Asia and South America. China has been Peru's largest trading partner for more than a decade.
Chinese state shipping and logistics company Cosco, a majority shareholder in the port, also rejected the US claims, saying the port remains “under the jurisdiction, sovereignty and control of the Peruvian authorities, subject to all Peruvian regulations”.
The ruling issued on January 29 by a lower court judge, however, orders Peruvian authorities to refrain from exercising “regulatory, supervisory and control powers” over the port of Chancay.
The regulator, which oversees all of the country's other major ports, said it would appeal the decision, arguing there was no reason to exempt Cosco Shipping from the agency's oversight.
“(Cosco Shipping) would be the only company that could not be supervised,” Verónica Zambrano, the president of Ositran, told a local radio station on Wednesday.
