【By Observer News, Qi Qian】

America's ambitions toward Latin America are not hidden. After the Panama Canal and Venezuela's oil, it has now set its sights on Peru's Callao Port.

On February 11 local time, a Trump administration agency openly incited, claiming that Peru is losing sovereignty over the Callao Port, which is controlled by a Chinese company. In response, the operating company of Callao Port stated that Peru's sovereignty has never been affected.

Bloomberg reported that this is the most direct criticism of China-Peru relations by the Trump administration so far. China and the United States are Peru's first and second largest trading partners, respectively.

Callao Port is a natural deep-water port, owned by COSCO Ports. After its opening in November 2024, it has become an important hub of the Asia-Pacific-Latin America Land-Sea New Corridor. Now, as Trump seeks to project American power throughout the Americas, the port has increasingly become a focal point in the Sino-US competition.

The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs posted on the social media platform X, expressing concern about the latest reports, and claimed that "Peru may be unable to supervise the Callao Port," calling this "a warning story for the region and the world: the cost of Chinese capital is sovereignty."

In the comments section, Chen Weihua, former chief of the European branch of China Daily, was blunt: "The threat of the United States trying to annex Greenland should sound a warning bell to the whole world. It is not the 19th century anymore, but the 21st century. Naked imperialism has long been extinct."

The report mentioned by the U.S. refers to a ruling by a Peruvian court that the local infrastructure regulatory body Ositran does not have supervisory authority over the Callao Port.

However, the U.S. statement is actually distorting the facts.

According to the introduction, the Ositran institution mainly supervises the concessions of public ports in Peru, but Callao Port is a private port.

"Callao Port is not an enclave, nor is it a place where the Peruvian state lacks sovereignty," said Gonzalo Rios, the vice president of Callao Port, when interviewed by Bloomberg. A series of national entities, including customs, are regulating the activities at the port.

Rios further explained that the role of Ositran is limited to helping in case of disputes between users and the port, but it requires a fee of 1% of all sales. He pointed out that the port had been paying this fee, but with the expansion of operations, the amount has increased sharply. Moreover, these additional costs were not included in the initial calculation when COSCO made its investment decision in Callao Port.

He added that the port hopes to provide sufficient service levels to avoid complaints, and users have other mechanisms to resolve potential issues with the port.

This is not the first time the U.S. has used regulatory issues to hype up the "Chinese threat." Recently, the new U.S. ambassador to Peru, Bernie Navarro, posted on X, saying, "Everything has a cost. In the long run, cheap things can be costly, and there is no higher cost than losing sovereignty."

He recently also posted a photo of himself eating a cheeseburger with Peruvian President Jose, calling it "menu changes."

On May 16, 2025, a container ship docked at the Callao Port, Xinhua News Agency

Bloomberg mentioned that in recent years, China has invested heavily in Peru, including in the power, mining, and shipping sectors.

At the same time, as part of a project aimed at promoting bilateral trade, the Callao Port has been under scrutiny by the U.S. since its construction. As early as 2024, U.S. media continuously published reports, hyping up the idea that China would use this to increase its influence in the "backyard of the Americas."

After Trump took office, he imitated the "Monroe Doctrine" and proposed the "Trump Doctrine," making his ambitions toward Latin America even more brazen. The U.S. has designated Peru as a "major non-NATO ally" and is negotiating a contract worth up to $1.5 billion (paid by Peru) to build a new naval base near the Callao Port. In January, the U.S. State Department approved the plan, which is now awaiting congressional review.

Regarding the U.S.'s continuous attempts to interfere in Sino-Latin American relations, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning recently pointed out that Latin American countries are all sovereign states and have the right to choose their partners independently. No matter how the situation changes, China will continue to deepen practical cooperation with Latin American countries and promote common development.

Facts speak louder than words. While the U.S. is desperately hyping up and inciting, the Callao Port has been recognized by China and Latin America as a "win-win" project.

The Callao Port officially opened in November 2024. Over the past year, it has completely changed the trade logistics model between Asia and South America. Previously, goods from Asia to South America had to go around North America and the Panama Canal, taking more than 33 days. Now, the direct route from Shanghai Port to Callao Port takes only 23 days, shortening the journey by 10 days and reducing logistics costs by about 18%.

Alonso, the business development director of COSCO Ports Peru Callao, said: "Previously, it took 35 to 40 days to transport to Asia, but now the direct route takes only 23 days. This is a revolutionary change for short shelf-life products like mangoes and blueberries." Faster speed has become the norm on the Asia-Pacific-Latin America Land-Sea New Corridor.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7605818103812899380/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author."