Inauguration of China-backed Chancay Port demonstrates bright future of China-Peru cooperation

The upcoming inauguration of China-backed Chancay Port in Peru demonstrates a bright future of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the Latin American country.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte attended the inauguration ceremony of Chancay Port via video on Thursday local time.

The port is located in the Chancay Bay, about 80 kilometers north of Peru's capital Lima. It is a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative and the first smart port in South America. Once completed, it will become a new hub port in Latin America and a gateway port to the Pacific.

"'From Chancay to Shanghai' has become a catchphrase, demonstrating a bright future of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two nations. I believe it will substantially bring more sense of gain and happiness to people of the two countries," President Xi said when meeting with President Boluarte during her visit to Beijing in June.

The first phase of the port project will shorten the shipping time from Peru to China to 23 days, reducing logistics costs by more than 20 percent. It is expected to generate 4.5 billion U.S. dollars in annual revenue for Peru and directly create over 8,000 jobs.

The completion of the Chancay Port will enable Peru to put in place a multi-dimensional, diverse and efficient network of connectivity spanning from coast to inland, from Peru to Latin America and further on to the Caribbean, according to experts.

It will also help build an Inca Trail of the New Era with the Chancay Port as its starting point, thus boosting the overall development and integration of the region.

President Xi arrived in Peru's capital Lima earlier on Thursday to attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and pay a state visit to the Latin American country.

The 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held on Friday and Saturday in Lima.

Inauguration of China-backed Chancay Port demonstrates bright future of China-Peru cooperation

Inauguration of China-backed Chancay Port demonstrates bright future of China-Peru cooperation

Inauguration of China-backed Chancay Port demonstrates bright future of China-Peru cooperation

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight