China’s "Man in Peru" At Center of Chancay Megaport

 

A Florida Republican is warning the State Department about what he describes as China’s “growing influence” in Peru, and he’s pointing the finger at Lima Mayor Rafael López Aliaga, whose business interests are at the center of the story.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the Trump administration to pay closer attention to developments in Peru, where Chinese-backed ventures have accelerated in recent years.

“I am writing to raise urgent concerns about China’s growing influence in and around Lima, the capital of Peru, as part of the Chinese Communist Party’s deliberate, wide-ranging campaign to expand its global reach,” Steube wrote.

At the center of the congressman’s concerns is the Chancay megaport, $3.4 billion facility developed by the Chinese state-owned shipping and logistics company COSCO Shipping Ports in association with the Peruvian company Volcan. The port — expected to be one of the largest in South America and reducing shipping times to China by 10 to 20 days —was inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in November.

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— COSCO SHIPPING Europe (@CoscoEurope) September 11, 2025

It’s also part of a plan announced by China and Brazil to construct more than 1,800 miles of railway tracks through parts of the Amazon rainforest to create the Bioceanic Corridor across the continent. Chancay would be connected by rail to Cusco, a key rail hub of PeruRail. Since 1999, Lopez Aliaga has been a co-shareholder of PeruRail.

All of this development is part of the CCP’s strategic Belt and Road Initiative to create political leverage for the Chinese regime.

Former U.S. Southern Command chief Gen. Laura Richardson has previously warned that the port could serve as a “gateway” for Chinese military and intelligence operations in the region.

“Mayor López Aliaga, a man with clear ties to Chinese state-backed enterprises, may soon seek the presidency of a nation whose capital, infrastructure, and minerals are already tethered to Beijing,” Steube wrote.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, recently published a report laying out López Aliaga’s financial entanglements with Chinese firms, describing him as “China’s man in Peru.”

Concerns about Aliaga and PeruRail have risen so high in the Trump administration that there are unconfirmed reports the U.S. Department of Energy rejected a proposed loan to the Peruvian rail company. The U.S. Department of Energy declined to respond to multiple requests for comment about the loan.

Analysts note that China’s interest in Peru is closely tied to copper. Peru is the world’s second-largest producer of the mineral, which is vital for electric vehicles, renewable energy, and electronics manufacturing. China already controls significant copper supplies from Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Between 2020 and 2023, Chinese firms invested more than $1 billion in Peru’s mining sector, according to FDD. One of the country’s largest mines, Minera Las Bambas, is majority-owned by a Chinese state conglomerate.

Steube argued that Washington has been too slow to counter Beijing’s moves in Latin America. “The United States cannot afford to ignore these subnational battlegrounds,” he wrote. “While Washington debates great-power competition in abstract terms, Beijing is executing a concrete playbook in Lima.”

He urged the State Department to monitor Chinese engagement at both the national and local levels in Peru, warning that Beijing’s influence could reshape the balance of power in the hemisphere.

The State Department has not yet issued a public comment in response to Steube’s letter.

Jessica Towhey writes on education and energy policy for InsideSources. This article appears courtesy of DC Journal / InsideSources and is reprinted here with permission for syndication.