China is now the largest investor in the Suez Canal, which they are widening to permit two-way traffic and much larger ships.

“One Circle” is a reference to China’s efforts to build a pathway to the West through the Arctic. Their icebreakers can now make the trip from Dalian in China to Rotterdam in the Netherlands in just 26 days.

The Intersection of China And Mexico

What few seem to have noticed is that OBOR is in Mexico and Latin America, too. The Chinese have been upgrading Mexico’s railway links into the United States and across to their coastlines, and they’re getting ready to build a “super port” at Mexico’s Punta Colonet, which will be larger than America’s largest port, Long Beach. China is also expanding Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico’s deepest port, and upgrading the ports at Michoacan, Manzanillo, Veracruz and Ensenada.

China is also expanding Mexico’s access to the Pacific by building an entirely new canal across Nicaragua. It will permit today’s ever-larger ships to access Mexico’s east coast and facilitate the energy trade into and out of The Gulf of Mexico. This matters because China is financing the buildout of five new oil refineries in Mexico that are capable of managing the crude that flows out of the gulf. This new refining capability will be unchallenged except by America’s existing refineries, which are based on 35-year-old technology. It’s no contest. In exchange for the refinery buildout, China will expect to get most of the offtake.

China is also building physical infrastructure across the rest of Latam and from Chile to the Caribbean. Overall, China is now a bigger trade partner to Latam and the Caribbean than the European Union. China plans to spend at least $250 billion over the next decade upgrading infrastructure across the entire region. This will lift Mexican trade and Mexican profit opportunities as well.