The incident broke out when a Peruvian judge ruled that Chancay port - a giant project worth 1.3 billion USD located near the capital Lima - would be exempt from some supervisory regulations of state management agencies.
Immediately after that, the Western Hemisphere Department of the US State Department expressed its views on social network X, stating that investment flows from China may be accompanied by barriers to the autonomy in infrastructure management of the receiving country.
These are considered the most direct responses from the US to the increasingly deep economic cooperation relationship between Peru and China.
Currently, Beijing has surpassed Washington to become the largest trading partner of this South American nation. Chancay Port, operated by Cosco Shipping Group, is expected to become an important link connecting trade between South America and Asia.
The focus of the issue lies in the supervisory power of the Peruvian infrastructure management agency over this port. While Ositran - the management, supervision and regulation agency of transport infrastructure has the authority to manage most other major seaports in Peru, Chancay port is registered under private ownership.
Leader Ositran believes that the lack of public supervision may reduce the level of protection of the rights of service providers at the port.
In the opposite direction, Mr. Gonzalo Rios, Deputy Managing Director of Chancay Port, affirmed that this project is not outside the scope of Peru's sovereignty. He clarified that state agencies such as customs still fully perform their control functions here.
The dispute actually involves a surveillance fee equivalent to 1% of revenue, an expense that investors believe is not included in the initial financial plan.
This situation takes place in the context of the US's efforts to consolidate its influence in Latin America through security and economic cooperation commitments. To create a counterweight, the US has identified Peru as a "big ally outside NATO" and is discussing a project to build a new naval base for this country worth about 1.5 billion USD.
US Ambassador to Peru, Mr. Bernie Navarro, also shared the view that countries need to be cautious with short-term economic benefits to ensure long-term independence in development policies. He emphasized the importance of maintaining full autonomy over strategic infrastructure projects.
Disagreement over management authority at the Chancay superport shows that Peru is facing a problem of balancing interests between the two superpowers. While major infrastructure projects offer strong economic growth opportunities, they also set strict requirements for perfecting the legal framework to ensure harmony between investment attraction and state management.
