Chile wishes for closer trade, economic ties with China
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Chile expects that China's economy will see steady growth and the two countries will have closer cooperation in trade, investment and tourism, Chilean Finance Minister Felipe Larrain said on Saturday.
"We are confident that China's economy will continue to grow, probably not at the rate of 12 or 13 percent as it has grown in recent years, but a growth of 9 percent will be very good for the world economy and for Chilean economy," Larrain told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
Larrain said that the bilateral trade relations developed rapidly. "China was even not among Chile's top 10 trading partners 10 years ago, but today China is our main trade partner."
Trade volume between the two countries exceeded 17.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, with 23 percent of Chile's export going to China.
The finance minister called on expanding bilateral ties not only in trade but also in investment and tourism. "We have many beautiful things in both countries to show each other," he said.
Larrain said the measures taken by the Chinese government, such as gradual revaluation of the Chinese currency, will increase China's purchasing power and allow China to import more products from Chile.
The Chilean senior official said his country welcomes China and Chinese entrepreneurs to participate in Chile's reconstruction process after the earthquake on Feb. 27 last year.
