China Opens Megaport in Peru

China’s President Xi Jinping himself recently attended the inauguration of the Chancay Port on the Peruvian Coast, an indication of just how serious China takes the development of an important outpost in Latin America. 

Xi was in Peru for the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum (Apec), but all eyes were on Chancay and what it says about China’s growing assertiveness in a region that the US has traditionally seen as its sphere of influence.  

As seasoned observers see it, Washington is now paying the price for years of indifference towards its neighbors and their needs. 

 “The US has been absent from Latin America for so long, and China has moved so rapidly, that things have really reconfigured in the past decade,” says Monica de Bolle, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “You’ve got the backyard of America engaging directly with China. That’s going to be problematic.” 

     The $3,5bn project, masterminded by China’s state owned Cosco Shipping, transformed a sleepy Peruvian fishing village into a logistical powerhouse that is set to transform the country’s economy.   

     The new port will favor imports as well as exports. Once Chancay is fully up and running, goods from Chile, Ecuador, Columbia and even Brazil are expected to pass through it on their way to Shanghai and other Asian ports. China already imports Brazilian soybeans and Chilean copper. This new port will be able to handle larger ships and cut shipping times from 35 to 23 days. 

     Nervous US military hawks are quick to point out, if Chancay can accommodate ultra-large container vessels, it can also handle Chinese warships.

Trump Tariffs to be Passed on    

             to Consumers

     AutoZone’s CEO, Phillip Daniele, has stated that if the proposed tariffs on Chinese goods are imposed, “We will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer. We may even raise prices before the tariffs take effect.”

     Other companies, including Steve Madden, Columbia Sportswear, and Stanley Black & Decker, are also preparing for possible price increases due to the tariffs, with some considering moving production to other countries or passing on higher expenses to customers.

     The National Retail Federation has warned that the tariffs on Chinese goods could lead to sharp price increases for daily goods like furniture, shoes, and clothes, with a $90 pair of sneakers potentially costing $106-$116, and a $100 coat costing up to $21 more. 

     President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs include a 10-20% tax on all imports and a potential 60-100% tax on goods from China. 

     Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against any efforts to unwind globalization in his first major remarks since Trump was elected. 

     “Blocking economic cooperation under various excuses and dividing an interdependent world is going back in history,” Xi issued a statement through his Commerce Minister, at the recent summit in Peru. “The world has entered a new period of turbulence and change. Unilateralism and protectionism is spreading, the fragmentation of the world economy is intensifying. Economic globalization is faced with severe challenges.” 

     The Chinese leader is seeking to portray himself as a champion of economic globalization, as he works to bring China’s embattled economy back on track. Trump’s tariffs risk derailing China’s fragile recovery.  

45 Hong Kong Pro-Democracy   

            Leaders Jailed

     45 pro-democracy activists and leaders, made up of human rights defenders, scholars, journalists, and lawmakers were sentenced to prison terms of up to 10 years, in Chinese controlled Hong Kong, and charged with “conspiracy to commit subversion,” for taking part in an unofficial primary to select opposition candidates in July of 2020. 

     The trial marked the largest single use of the controversial National Security Law (NSL), which Beijing imposed on opposition voices in the once freewheeling city of Hong Kong shortly after the huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests convulsed the international financial hub in 2019.  

     The U.S. State Department immediately condemned the sentences stating: “The 45 defendants sentenced were aggressively prosecuted, and many now face life altering imprisonment simply for their peaceful participation in political activities which are protected under the Basic Law of Hong Kong…We call on Hong Kong authorities to immediately and unconditionally release these 45 individuals and similarly detained political prisoners. These harsh sentences erode confidence in Hong Kong’s judicial system and harm the city’s international reputation.” 

     TikTok Fate in US 

  Better With Trump Win

     TikTok’s fate in the US has improved markedly with the election of Donald Trump to a second Presidential term, according to industry insiders, as the valuation of the app’s Chinese owner ByteDance soars. 

     “The future of the embattled short-video platform is a lot brighter than it was after Trump’s win,” said an influential source. “While the new administration may demand certain concessions from TikTok, such as data and management localisation, they may not outright ban TikTok because it helped them too much in the election. Saving TikTok may give Trump a point of leverage during bilateral negotiations with the Chinese government.”

     Despite current Congressional pressure to ban the platform, which has upwards of 1.5 billion active users, and Trump’s bid to ban TikTok on national security grounds during his first term, he recently changed course and joined the popular platform in June 2024 and has more than 14 million followers. In September, Trump said voting for him would help “save TikTok.”

 China Urges Calm in Face of   

     Russia Nuclear Threats

     Moscow has reacted furiously to a decision by US President Joe Biden to change policy and allow Ukraine to use 

US-supplied long-range missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time. 

     Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately signed a decree that enables Moscow to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states such as Ukraine if they are supported by nuclear powers.

     Beijing called for a cooling off of tensions.

     “Under the current circumstances, all parties should remain calm and exercise restraint, working together through dialogue and consultation to ease tensions and reduce strategic risks,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian replied when asked about the decree and the recent strikes inside Russia carried out by Ukraine with US-supplied ATACMS missiles. “China’s stance of encouraging all parties to de-escalate the situation and commit to a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis remains unchanged. China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard,” Lin Jian added.

     The White House, UK and European Union condemned Putin’s nuclear decree as “irresponsible.”