South of the border, China is ascendant.Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives this week in a region where China has replaced the U.S. as the dominant trading partner for most big economies, with the exceptions of Mexico and Colombia.

The port opening in Chancay underscores China’s growing clout in a region that once looked primarily to the United States for economic opportunity.

As a deflated Biden and Xi both arrive in Peru for the summit, the prospect of growing US isolationism will loom over discussions.

"Since the beginning of the new century, the growth rate of China-Latin America goods trade volume has been much higher than the trade growth rate of Latin America and the Caribbean with the rest of the world in the same period, which highlights the high complementarity between the economies of China and Latin America," Lin said.

If things had gone differently last week, U.S. President Joe Biden could have arrived at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru on Thursday projecting confidence and pledging his successor’s cooperation with eager Latin American partners.

The Chinese leader is due to inaugurate a $1.3 billion megaport that is expected to become a hub for South America-Asia trade.

Peru - Recent The Republic of Peru stands out as one of the first Latin American countries to establish diplomatic ties and a comprehensive strategic partnership with the People's Republic of China, with the two countries witnessing ever-growing cooperation in various sectors over the past several decades.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping headed to Peru on Wednesday, bound for a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organisation leaders overshadowed by fears of renewed global trade tensions under Donald Trump.