LIMA (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a week-long diplomatic blitz of South America on Thursday by inaugurating a massive deep-water port in Peru, a $1.3 billion investment by Beijing as it seeks to expand trade and influence on the continent.

China is ready to work with Peru to build a new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America with the Chancay Port as a starting point, Xi said.

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