Peruvian President Dina Boluarte held a press briefing July 8 to report back on her June 26-29 visit to China. Joining her were the six cabinet ministers who had accompanied her on that trip. The President and the ministers had been astonished by China’s scientific and technological development, and were excited at the prospects for Peru, with China’s help, to advance just as rapidly.
President Boluarte summed up the trip: “In our visit to this first-world country, we saw with our own eyes the technology which they have and the scientific innovation which they use. We want to continue strengthening this bilateral relationship so that we can receive all this scientific ‘hub’ they have, and make this a different Peru.” Foreign Minister Javier González Olaechea described the visit as “historic,” and spoke of being “amazed” and “impressed” by the technology in health, infrastructure, and transportation that they had seen in China. Health Minister César Vásquez spoke of how Chinese surgeons can perform even complex surgeries remotely in distant provinces, using robotic instruments and China’s extensive satellite and 5G networks.
The President spoke of a possible doubling of Chinese investment in Peru; industry, rail, 5G were among the projects mentioned as agreed on or in the works. Educating young Peruvians was one of her main concerns. An agreement was signed with Huawei to train 20,000 young Peruvian IT specialists. Health Minister Vásquez announced that Peruvian health professionals will train in two of China’s largest hospitals, and China will help develop a robotic surgery capability in Peru. China will help train Peruvian teams in issues of water supply and storm drainage, sanitation, construction, and urban planning, Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation Hania Pérez de Cuéllar reported.
