The enduring friendship between Wang Jie and Marco Antonio Del Prado Nuñez has transcended cultural differences and shaped a decade of successful Sino-Peruvian collaboration and mutual growth.
Some say that friends are the family you choose for yourself. Wang Jie chose a family thousands of miles away.
Wang, 37, is the deputy general manager of the Changjiang International Engineering Co., Ltd (a subsidiary of the CISPDR Corporation) and general manager of the CISPDR Corporation's Peru branch.
His bond with Marco Antonio Del Prado Nuñez, a Peruvian government official blossomed when they met 10 years ago.
In 2012, the two crossed paths at a training session hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China. At that time, Nuñez was in charge of water resources. Wang could speak perfect Spanish, and his company is one of the best water conservancy consultancy companies in China.
"I introduced him to the middle route of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project and the Three Gorges Project. He was especially interested in the former, as 80 percent of Peru's population is located along the Pacific coast, but 80 percent of the country's water resources are in the western Amazon basin," Wang said.