As a way to shorten cargo travel times, China launched a new maritime route to Latin America that will serve countries such as Mexico, Colombia or Ecuador.
Panoramic of the port of Tianjin in China, from where a new route to Latin America departs, on January 4, 2024.
China promises a seven-times faster journey from Asia to Latin America, thanks to the launch of a new maritime transport route that includes several countries in the region, including Ecuador, with which it signed a trade agreement in 2023.
And everything has a reason, since 2012, Beijing is the second main partner in the region and with a view to expanding its geopolitical influence, even above the United States.
The new route will have a travel time of about 25 days, states the official Chinese government newspaper, Global Times.
It will serve to improve connectivity between the northeastern area of China, and will be the first to depart from the port of Dalian, one of the most important cities in that area, bound for Latin America.
In addition, it aims to promote imports of fruits and seafood to the Asian country, which China buys, for example, from countries such as Ecuador and Mexico.
But it is not the first route of this type that China has launched, because at the end of December, it presented a connection from the port of Tianjin (northeast), with 10 freighters with capacity for up to 4,500 containers.
In this case, the route from Tianjin will serve to transport Chinese products such as glass, steel, bicycles or cars and bring back goods such as shrimp, beef, tropical fruits, wine or cereals.
An expert cited by Global Times pointed to the “large margin of growth” for trade between China and Latin America, which in 2023 approached the USD 500 billion mark.
In addition, he considered that the multiple free trade agreements signed between Beijing and the countries of the region will accelerate this process . One of these agreements was signed with Ecuador and covers more than 90% of the country’s exportable supply.
