US claims Peru risking sovereignty in megaport dispute with China

Washington has sought to push Chinese competition out of Latin America and assert dominance in the Western Hemisphere

Peru could lose its sovereignty to China over Chinese ownership of a major port in the South American country, the US has claimed.

The State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs issued the warning after a Peruvian court temporarily restricted state regulator Ositran from supervising the Chancay port, which is owned by China.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has been trying to assert dominance over the Western Hemisphere, where China has long built influence through loans and trade.

The Bureau said on X on Wednesday that it was “concerned” the port was under “predatory Chinese” ownership.

“Cheap Chinese money costs sovereignty,” it warned.

Beijing on Thursday strongly rejected the US' “false accusation and disinformation.”

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Chancay is Peru’s fourth-largest port, owned and operated by a local subsidiary of China’s Cosco, which acquired a 60% stake for $1.3 billion in 2019. The facility is a private port for public use, not a state concession. Beijing has been Lima’s top trading partner for more than a decade.

Cosco filed a constitutional complaint arguing Ositran overstepped by charging a fee meant for state concessions. A judge sided with the Chinese firm.

Cosco has stated the ruling “in no way involves aspects of sovereignty.” 

Washington’s warning follows a pattern of US efforts to push China out of Latin America. The US National Security Strategy calls for preventing non-Western “competitors” from owning or controlling key assets in the Western Hemisphere.

Critics have accused Washington of applying economic and military pressure while simultaneously lecturing regional governments on sovereignty.

In January, American special forces invaded Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro. The US maintains sanctions on Caracas that forbid state oil company PDVSA from dealing with Chinese and Russian firms.

READ MORE: Venezuela renews oil shipments to Israel – Bloomberg

Last year, Trump claimed that China was “operating the Panama Canal,” threatening to “take it back.” Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison operated two ports at the canal’s entrances, not the waterway itself. Following the threats, the firm agreed to sell its 90% stake in the ports to a US consortium. The sale remains pending after Panama’s Supreme Court annulled the concessions two weeks ago.