The new megaport is 992 hectares in size and creates a direct link between Shanghai and Peru and will cut shipment times down by 20 days on some routes.

Huge cranes loom over Peru's massive new Chinese-funded Chancay port, a symbol of Beijing's growing influence in South America which is set to be inaugurated by President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

By Eduardo Baptista, Marco Aquino, Lucinda Elliott LIMA (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a week-long diplomatic blitz of South America on Thursday by inaugurating a massive deep-water port in Peru,

The port opening in Chancay underscores China’s growing clout in a region that once looked primarily to the United States for economic opportunity.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday inaugurated Latin America's first Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru -- a symbol of the Asian superpower's growing influence on the continent as it prepares to face off with a new Donald Trump administration.