LIMA (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a week-long diplomatic blitz of South America on Thursday by inaugurating a massive deep-water port in Peru, a $1.3 billion investment by Beijing as it seeks to expand trade and influence on the continent.

Chinese President Xi Jinping began his week-long diplomatic visit to Latin America on Thursday with the virtual inauguration of Chancay Port in Peru. The $1.3 billion project, funded by China, is expected to become a major trade hub between South America and Asia.

China’s President Xi Jinping joins host and counterpart Dina Boluarte to inaugurate Chancay Port in Latin American nation of Peru - Anadolu Ajansı

LIMA (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday during talks with Peru's Dina Boluarte in Lima that China is willing to take the Chancay port, built and controlled by Chinese state-owned Cosco Shipping, as a starting point to forge a new maritime-land corridor between China and Latin America.

TEMPO.CO, Lima - Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a week-long diplomatic blitz of South America on Thursday by inaugurating a massive deep-water port in Peru, a $1.3 billion investment by Beijing as it seeks to expand trade and influence on the continent.

A new China-backed megaport in Peru may create whole new trade routes that will bypass North America entirely.

By Alek Buttermann The inauguration of the Chancay Megaport in Peru marks a significant moment for regional trade, with the facility set to become South America’s largest commercial port. Developed by China's state-owned Cosco Shipping,

China's leader, Xi Jinping, virtually inaugurated the large Chancay port near Lima on Thursday. Built, financed, and controlled by a state-owned Chinese company, the port aims to streamline direct goods transport between Asia and South America.