The mega transcontinental railway project promoted by China, which plans to connect the port of Chancay in Peru with the port of Santos on the Atlantic coast of Brazil, is positioned as a key piece in China’s economic and geopolitical expansion strategy in Latin America.
Although the project promises to facilitate trade between the two oceans, it also raises serious questions about its environmental, social, and geopolitical implications for the Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.
Strategy and expansion
“The bioceanic project is part of China’s global strategy to secure access to raw materials, strengthen alternative technologies, and consolidate its economic and geopolitical presence in the region,” Federico Rabino, an expert in international relations and director of the Fernando de la Mora Institute in Paraguay, told Diálogo.
In April 2025, a high-level delegation from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) visited Brazil to advance a cooperation agenda focused on strategic infrastructure, with the transcontinental railway as the main topic. According to Mexican daily El Imparcial, the project, with an estimated investment of $3.5 billion, will facilitate the direct transport of key agricultural products such as soybeans, sugar, and corn to Asia.
Although the idea of the bioceanic corridor was first proposed in 2008, the project gained new momentum after a 2023 meeting between Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. As part of the visit, the Chinese delegation toured several areas of the Amazon to assess the technical and territorial feasibility of the project.
The railway route is planned to cover more than 3,700 kilometers, crossing Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru, and would pass through key agricultural areas such as Mato Grosso and Acre. According to a report from Peruvian daily La República, operations are scheduled to begin in 2028.
Hidden costs
Despite its economic promises, the project continues to raise significant concerns due to its environmental and social impact. According to Spanish news agency EFE, the proposed route would cross ecologically sensitive areas in the Amazon, with no environmental impact studies available and no clear mitigation plans.
The risks include deforestation and loss of virgin forests, habitat fragmentation and wildlife displacement, air and water pollution, and threats to indigenous communities and peoples in voluntary isolation.
The Amazon, known as the lungs of the planet, produces approximately 20 percent of the oxygen breathed through photosynthesis. This region stretches across Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
The route, investigative journalism platform Dialogue Earth reported, will affect areas inhabited by more than 600 indigenous communities in Brazil and Peru, as well as at least 15 peoples in voluntary isolation, whose lives, culture, and territories would be at risk.
An analysis by international platform The People’s Map of Global China, which tracks China’s international activities, indicates that similar projects led by Chinese companies in Latin America have recurring impacts, including pollution, deforestation, and a lack of prior consultation with indigenous communities. In addition, repressive responses to local protests have exacerbated social tensions.
China and strategic regional control
Beyond natural resources, Latin America represents a key market of more than 600 million people for China and a strategic front for its “one China” policy. According to a report by the Peruvian Army’s Center for Strategic Studies (CEEEP), seven of Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies are in this region, underscoring the area’s importance to Beijing’s geopolitical ambitions.
“In addition to altering the environmental and economic balance in the area, the project will favor Beijing’s strategic interests,” Rabino said. “The lack of transparency and failure to comply with internationally established environmental and social standards are causing concern among local communities, who fear the impact on their territories and livelihoods.”
Rabino also warns about the lack of transparency in agreements between South American countries and Chinese companies. “Agreements signed with Chinese companies often include secret clauses, as the Panama Papers revealed. This creates tensions over sovereignty in South America,” he said. In addition, projects such as the bioceanic corridor reinforce economic and political dependence on China, which jeopardizes a country’s ability to independently manage its strategic resources.
Controversial projects
The track record of Chinese companies’ projects in the region is mixed. In 2017, state-owned China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (CREEC), tasked with carrying out initial feasibility studies for the bioceanic train, concluded that it could be done, although Brazil’s state-run rail operator Valec said in its own findings that the proposed line would require a new city in the heart of the Amazon and would have significant repercussions on sensitive ecosystems. CREEC’s previous experience in Latin America, such as the failed railway project in Venezuela, also raised doubts.
In Venezuela, the project was left unfinished, reaching only 31 percent completion due to problems such as bureaucracy, financial defaults, labor disputes, and lack of permits. In addition, the lack of oversight led to looting and environmental damage, Costa Rican nongovernmental organization Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism indicated.
Development at any price
“Development cannot be analyzed without serious reflection on the risks and challenges it entails,” Rabino said. “In recent years, some leaders and academics have promoted the idea that closer ties with China are an ideal solution. However, experience in the region shows a much more complex reality.”
South American leaders face a crucial challenge: balancing the economic benefits of projects such as the bioceanic corridor with the protection of their natural resources and social rights. The region’s ability to harmonize development with sustainability will have profound implications for the future of Latin America.
