APEC and G20 Summits: South America distances itself from the transatlantic world
What follows is my English translation of a short article, originally in Italian, published on Movisol.org on Friday 22nd November 2024.
This year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, held on 16th and 17th November [2024] in Peru, brought together the leaders of the twenty-one member states bordering the Pacific, coinciding with the inauguration of the new deep-water port of Chancay, north of Lima, a key infrastructure of the One Belt One Road project and emblematic of the contents of the emerging multipolar world, driven by China and the BRICS.
The APEC summit saw one of the last diplomatic interventions by President Biden, who may have hoped to make one last rewarding entrance, a hope dashed by the bitter defeat of his Vice-President in the 5th November [2024] elections. Indeed, as the mainstream US media unanimously acknowledged, his presence was completely overshadowed by that of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who carried the message of win-win cooperation. As the Director General of the Atlantic Council, Frederick Kempe, warned, the summit “is all about China gaining economically and the US losing ground” (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/inflection-points/chinas-advances-in-latin-america-should-concern-trump/).
This was illustrated by the inauguration of the Port of Chancay, which took place the day before the summit opened. The project had been talked about for some years, but nothing had moved until, in 2019, the private Chinese shipping and port giant, COSCO, offered to participate, proposing to make the port the centre of a large logistics-industrial hub. The private Peruvian company Volcan Mining joined COSCO, acquiring 40% of the project. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, economic and political upheavals in Peru, and gigantic geopolitical pressures led by the US, the first phase of the project was completed.
This is a “historic moment for Peru and for all Peruvians”, said President Dina Boluarte speaking at the ceremony. Chancay will consolidate the country as a world-class logistics, technology and industrial centre, she emphasised, and place it at the centre of trade with the Asia-Pacific, which is the driving force behind global economic growth. Xi spoke of the “model port” as the focal point of a true prosperity corridor for Peru and all Ibero-American and Caribbean countries.
On the sidelines of the summit, Xi Jinping also met with Biden, before they both left for the G20, to be held in Rio de Janeiro on 18-19 November. However, more important than the G20, which rarely decides anything important, is Xi's state visit to Brazil, at the invitation of his counterpart Lula da Silva. The question on everyone's mind is whether Brazil will finally decide to officially join the Belt and Road Initiative. Although Lula has significantly strengthened cooperation with China, at diplomatic and economic levels, there is strong pressure on him not to do so; this does not prevent him from continuing to develop relations with Beijing, particularly within the BRICS Plus group.