A remote fishing town on the edge of Peru’s coastal desert is the site for a $1.3 billion megaport majority-owned by the Chinese shipping giant Cosco.

Huge cranes loom over Peru's massive new Chinese-funded Chancay port, a symbol of Beijing's growing influence in South America which is set to be inaugurated by President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

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

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to inaugurate a mega port on the Peruvian coast, a project expected to speed up trade between South America and Asia-Pacific.