LatinNews Daily - 24 October 2023

* Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has arrived in Beijing ahead of a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping tomorrow (25 October). According to a statement from the Colombian presidency, Petro will seek China’s assistance with major infrastructure projects, particularly rail and metro networks. Two Chinese companies – Xi’an Metro Company and China Harbour Engineering Company – won a contract in 2019 to construct the first line of Bogotá’s metro, which is under construction and will be above ground. According to the statement, Petro and Xi will discuss the planned second line of the metro, which Petro has said should be underground. The statement said that Petro will also raise broader issues of investment and trade, including seeking Chinese investment in the Colombian ports of Tumaco, Nariño department, and Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca department, and the restoration of a rail line along Colombia’s Atlantic coast.