China has made a $1.3 billion bet that a new port in Peru will boost access to South America’s agricultural bounty. Cashing in on the investment may be harder than expected.

The port opening in Chancay underscores China’s growing clout in a region that once looked primarily to the United States for economic opportunity.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday inaugurated Latin America's first Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru -- a symbol of the Asian superpower's growing influence on the continent as it prepares to face off with a new Donald Trump administration.