China plans to build railways in Colombia

On the morning of February 14, foreign media reported that China was negotiating a transport route to compete with the Panama Canal, the railway linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Colombia. "[China] has studied every tonne of transportation costs, investment costs, and everything is fine," said the FT's president, Juan Manuel Santos.　　”。 It is reported that the trunk line 220 kilometers long, will extend from the Pacific coast to a new city near Cartagena, imports of Chinese goods will be assembled there, and then exported to all parts of the Americas.　　On return, the vessel will ship the raw materials procured in Colombia to China. "I don't want to create exaggerated expectations, but it's all significant," Mr Santos said. "Asia is a new engine for the global economy. "Colombia has always dreamed of building a transport route that could replace the Panama Canal," the report said. Colombia hopes the move will spur Washington to push the U.S. Congress to ratify the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement.　　The country is America's closest ally in South America, but Costa Rica is disappointed by the delay in approving a free-trade agreement that the two governments signed 4 years ago, but not yet ratified by the US Congress. Meanwhile, China-Colombia bilateral trade has increased from $10 million trillion in 1980 to more than $5 billion trillion in 2010, making China the second largest trading partner of Colombia, after the United States. "Colombia's strategic position is important, and we see the country as a gateway to the rest of Latin America."　　Gao Zhengyue, China's ambassador to Colombia, said. In addition, the report said the project is only one of a series of Chinese proposals, which will boost the transport links between Colombia and Asia, while improving Colombia's antiquated infrastructure. Officials in China and Colombia say the most in-depth negotiations revolve around a 791-kilometer rail line and the expansion of the Pacific port Buenaventura. The 7.6 billion-dollar project is funded by China's National Development Bank, which is responsible for the operation of up to 40 million tonnes of cargo per year from Colombia's economic hinterland to Pacific ports. The focus will be on coal destined for China.