China and Chile ink bilateral trade agreements
Chinese PM Li Keqiang and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet have met in Santiago, to enhance their trade and financial ties.
After visiting Colombia, Peru and Brazil, Keqiang arrived to Chile on Monday to sign ten bilateral business contracts and governmental accords in areas including agriculture, trade, finance, mining, production capacity, science and technology.
"The 10 agreements we signed today are part of a total of 18 instruments of cooperation in different areas, both in the public and private sectors, and will be tools for working together for the development of both our countries," Bachelet told reporters after the meeting.
The contracts include an agreement to avoid double taxation, as well as a deal between the central banks of both nations for currency swaps. The meeting is part of a tour that the Chinese PM has made, investing $250bn in Latin America and the Caribbean region in the next 10 years.
It also took place on occasion of the 10th anniversary of China Chile free trade agreement.
Read more: China inks €47.5bn agreements in Brazil
"If anybody would like to see a prove of how these agreements work, all they need to do is to look at the China Chile experience...It is working very well for both parties," Jorge Heine, Chilean Ambassador to China, said.
Heine also pointed out that between 2006 and 2007, during the agreement's first year, Chile's exports to China doubled from $5bn to $10bn.
Last year, China became the dominant importer of Chile's copper, fruits and wine.
We are particularly excited about the possibility of exporting more food products to China
“We are particularly excited about the possibility of exporting more food products to China: fresh fruit, fish, meat, seafood,”Heine added.
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