Chinese premier heads to Latin America with brief to invest in infrastructure
Chinese premier heads to Latin America with brief to invest in infrastructure [1]
Submitted by andrew.raine@****** on May 17th 2015, 10:59pm
Andrea Chen andrea.chen@scmp.com
Infrastructure deals including cross-Andes railroad high on agenda for Li Keqiang's trip as China ditches its loans-for-energy model
Investment in infrastructure will be high on the agenda during Premier Li Keqiang's eight-day stay in Latin America as China seeks to intensify its engagement in the region amid its own economic slowdown.
Li left Beijing on Sunday for his first visit to Brazil, Columbia, Peru, and Chile. The four countries account for almost 60 per cent of China's exports and imports in Latin America. He is expected to sign an agreement on a feasibility study into a cross-Andes railroad that would link Brazil's Atlantic coast to Peru's Pacific coast, according to assistant minister of commerce Tong Daochi.
The ambitious project, which would allow China to bypass the Panama Canal when it imports from the east coast of the continent, has been under discussion for years. During President Xi Jinping's visit to Brazil last year, Beijing proposed a joint work group with Peru and Brazil.
Li will use the trip to offer Brazil a US$50 billion investment deal to help the 2016 Summer Olympics host overhaul its ageing infrastructure, a Brazilian senior official said last week. In addition to infrastructure, the premier is expected to sign deals involving aircraft, currency and agriculture.
More:
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1801826/chinese-premier-heads-latin-america-brief-invest