Chinese telecoms giant Huawei signs deal to train thousands of Peruvians in new technology

Peru has signed a deal with the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies to train thousands of its citizens in new technology.

President Dina Boluarte visited Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen on Wednesday as part of a week-long visit to China designed to attract more investment.

The Peruvian president's office said she had signed an agreement to train 20,000 young professionals, women and entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in new technologies, especially in artificial intelligence.

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In an article published by the state-owned newspaper China Daily on Monday, Boluarte also said her visit was "paving the way for greater investment and cooperation" with China in key sectors such as infrastructure development, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, clean energy and people-to-people exchanges.

In a news clip published by China Daily on its WeChat official account, Boluarte was also shown meeting Huawei chairman Liang Hua and testing its new M9 smart car.

She was also expected to visit BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen to discuss plans for the electric car giant to build a plant in Peru, before travelling on to Shanghai and Beijing, where she will meet her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

While in the southern city, she also visited an exhibition on Inca culture which the president's office said features more than 150 pre-Columbian items from Peru.

Peru is a major destination for Chinese investments under the Belt and Road Initiative and received US$2.9 billion last year - the third highest total worldwide, according to Fudan University's Green Finance and Development Centre.

But one major belt and road scheme, the Chancay Port located near Lima, has been a source of controversy.

Peru granted the state-owned Chinese shipping firm Cosco exclusive rights to run the port in 2021, but it tried to overturn the decision earlier this year saying it was an "administrative error".

The government had threatened legal action against Cosco over its business model for the port only to withdraw the lawsuit days before Boluarte's trip to China.

The Peruvian leader is set to meet representatives from Cosco in Shanghai on Thursday and will also attend a meeting with China Railway Construction, according to Reuters, to discuss plans to build a rail link connecting the Chancay Port with Bolivia and Brazil.

Xi is expected to visit Peru in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and his hosts hope he will also attend the inauguration of the Chancay Port.

The port has also caused concern in the United States, which is worried that it could be used for military purposes in the Pacific.

However, Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen said on Monday: "We do not believe that our friends ... like the United States will feel resentful because we're bringing Chinese investments to Peru."

"We believe this is an invitation for Western capital to arrive, including from the United States."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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