Increasing export of Chilean products into Chinese and other Asian markets is one of the priorities set by the government for 2016, an official said here Tuesday.
Andres Rebolledo, director of Economic Relations under Chile's Foreign Ministry, told Xinhua in an interview that his office was dedicated to "helping Chile explore Asian markets" and China in particular.
A delegation of Chilean officials and entrepreneurs, led by former Chilean president and extraordinary ambassador to the Asia-Pacific Eduardo Frei, visited Beijing and Shanghai late August during the "Chile Week in China," to promote Chile's products and boost its image as an investment destination for Chinese entrepreneurs. Besides, as a leading copper exporter, Chile has been hit hard by falling global demand and prices for raw materials.
"We have to redouble our efforts in that sense, to provide opportunities to other exportable offers not necessarily linked to commodities," Rebolledo said. "We have to incorporate new players in the country's exports, and the participation of more companies, especially small and medium-sized firms, is important," he added.
Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2014 surpassed 34 billion U.S. dollars. Chile is China's third-largest trade partner in Latin America, and China has become Chile's largest trade partner, said Rebolledo.
During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Chile in May 2015, the two countries signed a trove of cooperation deals on preventing double taxation, and facilitate the use of the Chinese currency renminbi or the RMB in bilateral commercial transactions, among others.
"We hope (those agreements) make Chile a more attractive platform for doing business in the yuan," said the official.
"The currency (yuan) is of utmost importance to Chile," as it has been added by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to its basket of reserve currencies alongside the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen and the pound, he said.
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