Full coverage: Xi Visits Ecuador, Peru and Chile, Attends APEC Summit

Infrastructure cooperation is one of the key areas for future China-Peru ties. Omar Khan tells us why it's the case, and how high hopes have been placed in the area.
 
Tap water is not a common feature of this neighbourhood here in Peru. Residents have to wait for a water tank truck like this every day in order to get their water

"I normally leave home to distribute water at about 4 or 5 in the morning. The distribution will normally last until 12. It's time consuming because it takes time to fill the water tank, and there're a lot of people needing water."

To save water, families have built their own tanks.

Water costs this family 60 Peruvian pesos, or about 20 US Dollars, a month.

"The government promised us tap water. But we've been living here for 20 years. Still, there's no tap water. People living in this community need water."

It's not a rare case.

This year, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on his trip to China, that 10 million people in his nation still lack access to tap water.

That's about one third of the nation's population.

But building a water pipeline network and a sewage disposal network are both costly projects.

With hopes of solving this problem, the Peruvian government has fully opened its infrastructure investment sector.

"Here in Peru, there are many investments coming from Spain, other European nations, the US and even Chile," said Kong Aimin, Shougang Group from China.

Without surprise, Chinese companies are facing competition.

"We have the world's leading hydroelectric project design and develop expertise given our experience. Our cost is much lower than European or US competitors. But in Peru, we may still face a challenge in promoting a Chinese standard," said Liu Haibin from China Three Gorges Corporation.

Now Chinese companies are taking part in the infrastructure construction of Peru's water supply, sewage disposal system and transportation network. Under the one belt, one road initiative, a stronger and more effective cooperation is expected to flourish between the two nations.