Trade between Colombia and China has increased from $10m in 1980 to more than $5bn last year.
The plan is to create a “dry canal” where the Pacific port of Buenaventura would be linked by rail, across Colombia, to the Atlantic Coast.
The announcement came from the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, who told the Financial Times that the project was “a real proposal… and it is quite advanced”.
China has been increasing its involvement across Latin America to feed a growing need for raw materials and commodities.