An ambitious plan for a £23 billion canal through the heart of Nicaragua is only one of China's huge infrastructure projects around the world.
In recent years, Chinese companies have begun a huge wave of construction that is already reshaping the world. Here are six of the most ambitious projects.
£18.7 billion - China-Pakistan economic corridor
An enormous project to connect Gwadar port in southern Pakistan to the west of China involves roads, railways and oil and gas pipelines and will eventually give China a highly-coveted port in the Indian Ocean. When the corridor is finished, it will serve as the main gateway for trade between China and the Middle East and Africa. Control of Gwadar port was transferred to China's state-owned Overseas Ports Holding company in February 2013. Earlier this year, a plan to build an airport at Gwadar was also agreed, as well as the laying of fibre-optic cables between the Chinese border and Rawalpindi.
£7.6 billion - Nigeria's high-speed railway
In May, China Railway Construction Corporation inked a £7.6 billion contract to roll out an 860-mile high speed railway across Nigeria for trains travelling at 75mph. So far there have been no details on the route of the line.
£6.5 billion - Algeria's East-West Highway project
First launched in March 2007, an ambitious project to build a six-lane toll road across Algeria has been hit by confusion, allegations of bribery and delays for workers' salaries.
China Rail Construction Corporation and CITIC won contracts for parts of the highway, while a Japanese consortium also won a construction contract.
When finished the highway will run 756 miles from the Moroccan border to the Tunisian border, connecting Algeria's coastal cities.
£1 billion - Baltic Pearl Project
On the coast of the Gulf of Finland, south-west of St Petersburg, China is building a new town for 35,000 residents.
With £1 billion of investment from the Shanghai Industrial Investment Company, the project was scheduled to take six to eight years but has slowed since the financial crisis.
When finished, the town will have 14,000 apartments, five schools and nine kindergartens, as well as shopping centres, restaurants and cinemas. However, there has been criticism of poor conditions for the construction workers and traffic and access problems getting to the town.
£880 million - West Texas wind farm
In 2011, Shenyang Power Group (SPG) signed a deal to develop a 36,000 acre wind farm in West Texas, one of the largest in the United States. Chinese-made turbines will power the plant, funded by a £880 million loan from China's Export-Import Bank.
£750 million - Nigeria's Zungeru hydroelectric power plant
Last July, on a visit to Beijing, Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian president, agreed a deal to build a 700MW dam on the Niger river, roughly 90 miles from Abuja. Construction will take five years and three-quarters of the cost will be loaned by China to Nigeria for 20 years at 2.5 per cent interest.
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