Peru's president-elect to visit China on first foreign trip

Incoming Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski attends a Catholic mass at a church in Manchay on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, June 12, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

LIMA - Peruvian President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski will visit China on his first foreign trip after taking office next month.

Speaking to Channel 2 television recently, Kuczynski said his first official trip will be to China, prior to the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit Lima is set to host on Nov 19 and 20.

"It's necessary to go to China before the APEC, because it is our No. 1 trade partner," said Kuczynski, who just won the presidential election.

Kuczynski's decision shows his determination to boost ties with Peru's biggest trade partner, said Carlos Aquino, director of the Economic Research Institute at the National University of San Marcos in Lima.

"China is our leading trade partner, the top investor in Peru, especially in the area of mining, and we have a great (joint) project of bicoastal train with Brazil that will hopefully become a reality," Aquino told Xinhua.

Reciprocal high-level visits between China and its trade partners in Latin America are getting more frequent in recent years. Leaders of Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Chile have all made China their first foreign trip destinations in recognition of China's growing importance in the economy of the region, said Aquino.

The president-elect's first agenda on the trip will be to boost trade, especially to increase the share of products with more added value that Peru exports to China, said Aquino.

Peru is also seeking to attract more Chinese investment in mining, fishing and infrastructure and more Chinese visitors, he said.

The total value of bilateral trade now stands at some 15 billion US dollars, thanks to the free-trade agreement that went into effect on March 1, 2010.