China makes a port play in Peru
Donald Trump’s recruitment of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate may be about the worst news the country could receive on the heels of the former president’s brush with a would-be assassin’s bullet.
Mr. Trump’s resilience after the attempt on his life has boosted his chances of winning the race. But he isn’t there yet.
By putting the big-government, isolationist Mr. Vance on the ticket, he’s wooing workers in swing states whose No. 1 grievance is foreign competition and who usually vote for the Democrats.
Regrettably, Mr. Vance’s nomination increases the odds that a second Trump presidency will double down on Biden protectionism. That would be nothing but upside for Chinese dictator Xi Jinping in the Americas.
Last month Peru’s President Dina Boluarte was in Beijing, meeting with Mr. Xi. The visit signaled the ever-closer Sino-Peruvian relationship on economic matters but also implies higher risks for U.S.
national-security interests in the region. Exhibit A is the new Port of Chancay, 50 miles north of Lima and 60% owned by China’s Cosco Shipping. In China Ms.
Boluarte met with the company, which will operate the new facility under an exclusive contract. When it’s inaugurated in November, the $3.6 billion project, funded by Chinese bank loans, will be the largest deepwater port in Peru and will have the potential for both economic and military use. Which is to say that it won’t be surprising to find Chinese naval vessels docking there.
It’s rumored around Lima that the U.S. tried to stop the Chinese investment. Some pro-market Peruvians say the State Department undermines its own interest in the rule of law by spending too much time promoting left-wing causes and wokeism.
Read more on livemint.com
