Chile to raise exports, attract investment
Chile is seeking to expand the export of its products to China and attract Chinese investment through the China International Import Expo (CIIE), which kicks off on Monday in Shanghai, a top Chilean official said on Saturday.
Chilean food, agricultural products, mining resources and wine will be highlights at the CIIE, according to Cristián Rodríguez, director of InvestChile, an official agency for the promotion of foreign investment into Chile.
“We took the invitation very seriously, and even our minister of foreign affairs and other state ministers will come to our pavilions,” Rodríguez told a press briefing in Shanghai on Saturday.
“We have one pavilion, which is going to be the tastiest pavilion in the whole fair. We have a number of excellent foods from Chile, from salmon to good wine and fruit. We hope our Chinese friends will visit and taste a little bit of Chile,” Rodríguez said.
Despite the long distance between Chile and China, Rodríguez said Chile has an advanced logistics system and food storage technology to ensure Chilean food and agricultural products arrive in China fast and fresh.
“Fruits take three to four days if shipped by plane; if shipped by boat, it could take up to 30 days,” he added.
The Chilean government perceives the CIIE as an important opportunity to attract foreign investment from China. Rodríguez said Chinese investors have shown a growing interest in Chile in the fields of infrastructure, energy, mining and wine.
“We are looking to have our first high-speed train, not only in Chile but in South America, and one of the leading tenders for that proposal is Chinese,” he told the Global Times.
According to Rodríguez, Chile is the third-largest trade partner of China in Latin America after Mexico and Brazil, and China is now Chile’s largest trade partner. Chile’s largest export to China is copper, followed by agricultural products, fruits (including cherries), wine and salmon.
He added that since China and Chile signed a free trade agreement in 2005, bilateral trade has maintained fast growth, hitting about $35 billion in 2017.