Hello, I'm Ritka Gupta and today on Business Daily, we're diving into the global tug of war over trade in South America between the US and China.

To look deeper, we travel to a small Peruvian fishing town, home to a new Chinese-funded megaport.

Right now, you're going to have a express Shanghai directly to Shanghai.

But not everyone's on board.

We'll explore how this billion-dollar infrastructure project

fits into China's Belt and Road initiative,

how it's changing lives in Peru, and what it means for a region caught between two global superpowers.

That's Business Daily on the BBC World Service.

It's early in the morning and I'm already on the road, driving two hours north of the capital Lima, heading towards the small fishing town of Chunkai.

I'm on the Pan American Highway.

This is a vast network connecting 14 countries.

It's almost 19,000 miles and critically, Chianghai sits next to it.

This port, majority owned by China's Costco shipping, could transform global trade.

It's redirecting shipping routes and would allow China to increase its presence in Latin America,

a region the U.S. has long considered its own backyard.

But what's happening on the ground?

I've just arrived at the port of Chianghai, and the first thing that catches your eye

are just the huge automated cranes in the horizon.

I've seen flags of Peru and China side by side and signs in both Spanish and Mandarin, a symbol of Beijing's

growing influence in South America.

We're standing near the dockside with Mario de la Casas, public affairs manager at the Chankai port.

Mario, this is truly an enormous operation, So let's start with the big picture.

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