Costa Rica eyeing China's trade and investment

Costa Rica wants to become the door for Chinese exports and investment to Latin America, as bilateral trade and investment has been growing rapidly since the two countries signed a free trade agreement in 2010.

"We've seen very positive results in the field of trade and investment since we signed the free trade agreement with China," said Costa Rica's President Laura Chinchilla in an interview with China Daily on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

"We can offer China the door to the Latin American region to export its goods and services," she said. "There are many opportunities for Chinese investment in Costa Rica's energy, telecommunication and infrastructure sectors. And we are in talks with some companies for potential offers of investment."

Chinchilla said that Costa Rica has been able to achieve relatively balanced growth and is very much aware of the importance of sustainable development, which makes the country a favorable destination for foreign investment.

She said that the prospect of trade and economic relations with China will continue to be positive under China's new leadership despite the slowdown of the Chinese economic growth to 7.8 percent in 2012, the weakest performance since the 1990s.

"Promoting free trade is essential to drive economic growth," she said.

In 2012, Costa Rica started the construction of a manufacturing industrial zone, which will become a center to produce, assemble and process Chinese exports to the country and Latin America.

China and Costa Rica established diplomatic relations in 2007. In November 2008, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Costa Rica and signed the China-Costa Rica free trade agreement. China is the second-largest trading partner of Costa Rica with a trade volume of $4.72 billion in 2011.