The secret businesses of Johnny Yang, friend of President José Jerí

“If you want to ask Uncle Johnny Yang for a favor, or to solve a problem for you, you have to go look for him personally,” said a friend from the area. Chinese businessman Zhihua Yang: “Johnny always imposes the terms of the relationship, even if he is the one asking for a favor to be returned. You just have to accept.”

The description fits with the episode that President José Jerí starred in at 11 pm on Friday, December 26, when he entered, covered with a hood, the building where the chifa Xin Yan is located, on San Luis Avenue, in San Borja. The place is owned by “Uncle Johnny Yang,” as the 53-year-old Chinese businessman, a native of the Fujian region, is better known.

The history of the migratory movement of Zhihua Yang It begins with a departure from Lima towards Santiago de Chile, on February 27, 2000. The date of his first entry into Peru does not appear. At that time, he was 28 years old. Most likely, he came to the capital because of a “call” from his family based in Fujian, a coastal region in southeastern China. The Fujianese are known for being passionate about business and because they had a decisive participation in the creation of the commercial and gastronomic center on the famous Capón Street. Perhaps because “Uncle Johnny Yang” embodies the characteristics of his community’s spirit and culture, currently presides over the Association of Fujianese Merchants Resident in Peru. For this reason, they trust him with their money when it comes to important investments, such as the concession of the Pachachaca 2 hydroelectric plant, located in Apurímac. His friends do not rule out that this could have been the main topic of conversation at the chifera dinner on Friday, December 26.

In Congress. Yang with a delegation of legislators who traveled to China, on December 14, 2023. Photo: María Agüero

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Chinese Johnny’s route

“Uncle Johnny arrived in Peru at the end of the 90s. He adapted quickly because the Fujian community here is very large, powerful and influential. Like those in his region, he has a good eye for business. He began helping his countrymen with immigration procedures, those bureaucratic paperwork that demands a lot of time and money. That’s why he became well known and got excellent contacts in the financial and political world. Chifa was his main attraction. What Peruvian doesn’t like it? “He learned that connecting with authorities was key for his own businesses and those of his community,” said a source who is a client of Xin Yan’s chifa, whose owners are his friends Dong Hua and Xue Lin, and who serves in his office building in San Borja, where he had the meeting with the head of state.

Prosperity smiled on “Uncle Johnny Yang.”

According to Public Records, Yang owns or controls 16 companiessuch as construction companies, heavy machinery sellers, shopping centers, real estate agencies and restaurants, among others. One of them are: América Sam and Construcciones Capón, suppliers of the State: the first registers contracts for S/2.1 million and the second for S/4.5 million. More than S/6.6 million between the two companies.

However, perhaps the most important undertaking that he led, with the participation of businessmen from the Fujian community, is the investment in the Pachachaca 2 hydroelectric plant, in Apurímac.

On February 26, 2023, during the government of President Dina Boluarte, the Ministry of Energy and Mines awarded the Pachachaca 2 concession to the company Hidroeléctrica Américacommitting to an investment of US$24.4 million to put the energy generator into operation.

According to the contract, the works were to begin on May 1, 2023 and finish on May 1, 2026. But difficulties were reported from the beginning. Virtually no progress has been made, according to the latest report from the Energy and Mining Investment Supervisory Body (Osinergmin).

José Jerí Oré | Zhihua Yang

Agreement. Zhihua Yang with the former mayor of Abancay, Manuel Campos, in 2017. Photo: Gore Apurímac

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A worrying business

“On October 27, 2025, the Ministry of Energy and Mines was informed that the project remains paralyzed.. Information was also requested regarding whether the concessionaire (Hidroeléctrica América) has submitted any request to modify its Works Execution Schedule, given that the POC (Commercial Commissioning) scheduled for May 1, 2026, would not be met,” the Osinergmin report indicates.

This fact could mean the loss of the faithful performance guarantee of US$244,200 that “Uncle Johnny Yang” put as part of the concession contract, since, as Osinergmin indicates, the three-year term is unlikely. Yang requires an extension for the execution of the work, otherwise he would lose the investment and affect his reputation in his community and the ICBC Perú Bank (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), which supports the letter of faithful compliance.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2019, Yang called on powerful businessmen from his community to invest in the hydroelectric plant.. There was a lot of money involved. Several investors joined the project, who thought they would recover from the pandemic disaster with the profits from the hydroelectric plant. But three years have passed since the concession was obtained and there is no benefit. There is concern in the community,” said a community businessman with knowledge of the events.

“The Chinese with money always seek to get closer to political power. Always! Therefore, it is quite likely that the meeting in Chifa was about starting up the Pachachaca 2 hydroelectric plant. Yang is not going to let so much of the Fujianese’s money be lost,” the source added.

The Hidroelectrica América company, which has the Pachachaca 2 concession, has “Uncle Johnny” Zhihua Yang as shareholders and Quande Yang and Hongpin Li, well-known businessmen in the community. Witnesses interviewed by La República reported that on the night of December 26, Yang and Jerí dined at the meeting with a variety of dishes such as sweet and sour sole, special chaufa, Cantonese lasagna, garlic kailan, pachikay, and Peking duck. And for dessert, the famous chintoy.

The Republic searched for businessman Yang several times, but they responded that he was not available to the press.

Jerí is a well-known client of Chifa who usually meets with businessman Zhihua. “The president always came to the chifa accompanied by a young lady, apparently she was his assistant. He really liked tamarind, special chaufa, sumai and spring rolls,” the sources said. “He always eats in the restaurant’s private rooms, sometimes with ‘Uncle Johnny’. They have known each other for a long time. Jerí never pays because Johnny invited everything,” they added.

If “Uncle Johnny Yang” gets an extension of the deadline to start operations at the Pachachaca 2 hydroelectric plant, his enormous influence over President Jerí will be confirmed.