by Jia Anping, Carlos Acat Koch
LIMA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Peru's President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has said that his government will maintain an open-door foreign policy in order to boost economic development and attract investment from countries like China.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua at his home in Lima, Peru's capital, Kuczynski said the last three governments all promoted good investments while demanding environmental responsibility in areas like mining.
"There will be no change," he said, adding that his foreign policy would be "to maintain good relations with all countries. Obviously, as I have said, as China is our main trading partner, we will put special emphasis there."
He said that he was greatly looking forward to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Lima in November.
During the presidential election campaign, the leader of Peruvians for Change, a center-right party in Peru, pledged that one of his first state visits abroad will be to China.
"China is the largest country in the world in terms of population and market size, that is why I want to go there. I want to speak with President Xi Jinping about the market we have, about we can offer in terms of mining and other products," he said.
"We have a free-trade agreement and I want to encourage Chinese industrial investments in Peru, especially in mineral processing," he added.
According to Kuczynski, large Chinese mining projects in Peru such as Toromocho and Las Bambas are exporting concentrations with as much of 50 percent of earth. "We have everything we need to handle the processing here," he said.
While Peru is a self-sufficient country, Kuczynski said, it requires capital and advanced technology that it currently does not have.
Concerning the possible Trans-Oceanic Railway project to link the Pacific to the Atlantic and a collaboration between China, Peru and Brazil, Kuczynski said "it was an interesting idea that needs deep study as some people believe it should go through the north of the country and some believe it should go through the south."
"The project must also guarantee that traffic will flow in both directions," he added.
Kuczynski admitted that Peru has a severe lack of infrastructure, with a list of potential projects covering new railway lines, including a massive expansion of Lima's urban railway.
He added that Lima's urban railway will be revised, on the model of Tokyo and Shanghai, as part of its urban planning strategy.
Acknowledging that previous governments have been friendly toward investors and seeking to follow in their footsteps, Kuczynski said his administration will seek to modify Peru's export basket and orient it toward higher value-added content.
However, "this will happen while requiring investments with reasonable environmental standards. If they are not reasonable, they cannot come here."
This is why Kuczynski's government will rapidly outline clear investment rules and help foreign companies in their negotiations with communities in Peru.
The president-elect will accompany this with a "social step forward", especially in mining areas, with the government providing the funds to build schools and electricity grid expansions, alongside foreign investments.
Despite weakening global demand for minerals, Kuczynski said Peru remains very competitive "by being the largest producer of low-cost copper in the world."
