Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra in Beijing on June 28, 2024. Since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Peru in 2013, the two sides have deepened political mutual trust and expanded practical cooperation. China attaches great importance to relations with Peru and is willing to work with Peru to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and push the China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level. Both sides should strengthen the synergy of development strategies, expand trade, and deepen cooperation in traditional areas such as mining, electricity, ports, and infrastructure. They should also expand cooperation in emerging areas such as new energy, communications, digital economy, digital healthcare, and artificial intelligence. China supports Peru in hosting this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with Peru in multilateral mechanisms such as the UN and APEC. Peru welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in Peru and is willing to further expand practical cooperation with China in infrastructure construction, new energy, green development, education, and other fields. Peru abides by the one-China principle, supports the Global Security Initiative, and is willing to strengthen multilateral cooperation with China to promote world peace and development. [292a808e]
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte concluded her state visit to China, meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other top Chinese officials. The visit highlights China's deepening economic ties with Latin America and contrasts with the limited economic engagement between the US and Peru. China's economic diplomacy in Peru includes projects such as the Chancay port and China Southern Power Grid's acquisition of Lima's electricity distribution. The success of Chinese economic diplomacy in Peru should serve as an alarm bell for US policymakers. The US should be concerned about the deeper political ties between China and Peru, as it could counter US interests in the region. The US has raised concerns over the Chancay port and the possibility of it being used by the Chinese navy. However, the US has limited economic engagement with Peru compared to China. Deeper collaboration between the US and Peru is important for diversifying supply chains and advancing the energy transition. The US can benefit from increased collaboration with Peru due to its mineral abundance. To compete with Chinese investment, US companies should participate in bidding for infrastructure projects in Peru and align their risk appetite with Peru's project and country risks. Deeper US economic engagement with Peru is also in Peruvians' interests as it can assist in addressing the country's democratic instability and political crisis. The US should accompany its statements of concern with economic tools that incentivize cooperation with Peru. [a9cbd030]