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,

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.

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.

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

President Xi Jinping on Thursday inaugurated Latin America's first Chinese-funded port in Chancay, Peru -- a symbol of Beijing's growing influence on

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to inaugurate a mega port on the Peruvian coast, a project expected to speed up trade between South America and Asia-Pacific.

A remote fishing town on the edge of Peru’s coastal desert is the site for a $1.3 billion megaport majority-owned by the Chinese shipping giant Cosco