This is how China disguises its investment in the Maya Train: The Yucatan Peninsula is a key region for the United States government.
After US congressmen claimed that the “Maya Train could be financed by the Chinese Communist Party,” Mexican journalist Mario Maldonado reveals how China would disguise its investment in the multimillion-dollar project that runs through the Yucatan Peninsula, a key region for the neighboring country to the north.
On Friday, March 7th, 35 American legislators told President Donald Trump to focus on the “key” region of the Yucatan Peninsula and investigate whether the Maya Train is being financed by China after recalling the expropriation of a mine from the Vulcan Materials company in the state of Quintana Roo.
The strategic location of the Yucatan Peninsula, less than 650 kilometers from Florida, requires vigilant protection of the economic and national security interests of the United States.
Beyond the troubling expropriation of the Vulcan property in the state of Quintana Roo, the United States government has expressed its concern by reports that parts of the Maya Train Project may be financed by the Chinese Communist Party.
The U.S. government is requesting the Sheinbaum Administration to urgently investigate and publicly clarify who the true developers of this project are and ensure that China’s Belt and Road Initiative does not establish a presence in this vital location.
Mexican financial journalist Mario Maldonado points out that “there is a scheme by which Chinese investment in the Maya Train is disguised,” which connects five states in southeastern Mexico: Tabasco, Campeche, Chiapas, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, in a 1,554-kilometer circuit.
In the article titled “China: Involved in the Maya Train and Much More,” the El Universal columnist asserts that the accusations made by the group of US congressmen are well-founded. Since it’s not the only project the Chinese have invested in Mexico, “it’s just that the Asian country’s investments in Mexico are triangulated with other countries.”
Although President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday, March 11th, that they can review the Public Accounts, the business, finance, and economics specialist recommends going into the details.
And he refers to an investigation by El CEO, published last December, which revealed that Xi Jinping’s government used a scheme to “disguise” several investments in Mexico and other countries.
The version is that China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), the company that won the bid for Section 1 of the Maya Train, was not the one that directly invested in the project in southeastern Mexico, the journalist indicates.
However, he explains that the Chinese capital passed through Portugal through a triangulation scheme that operates in this way in the specific case of the railroad.
However, CCCC acquired only 35% of the consortium with Mexican companies and thus avoided reporting its investment in Mexico.
In August 2020, CCCC acquired 30% of the Portuguese construction company Mota-Engil, the majority shareholder in the consortium for Section 1 of the Maya Train. The transaction was completed on the Euronext Lisbon market.
In November 2020, the transaction was finalized with a contractual modification that redefined the term “subsidiary.” Thus, CCCC left much of the work to its Mexican subsidiary, China Communications Construction Company México.
Section 1 of the Maya Train, where Chinese investment is presumed, is 226 km long and runs from Palenque (Chiapas) to Escárcega (Campeche), passing through the states of Tabasco, Campeche, and Chiapas.
With information from El Universal
San Miguel Times
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