Chilean ambassador: FTA talk with China to cover e-commerce

BEIJING - Chile's ambassador to China said the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Latin America will cover several new areas, including e-commerce, government purchases, and financial services.

Chilean Ambassador to China Jorge Heine told Xinhua that reaching an agreement with China on e-commerce was important to Chile because it would like to see more of the dynamism of e-commerce in China.

"People in China buy almost everything via the Internet," said Heine. "This is not something one sees in most countries in the world. This is something very innovative and interesting."

This year marks 10 years since the FTA between China and Chile was signed, the first FTA China signed with another country. During the past decade, trade between the two countries increased four fold, with highlights being copper and food.

Chile is estimated to have around a quarter of the world's copper reserves while China is the main importer and consumer of copper, making the mineral a very strong link between the two economies. In addition, Chile is a major exporter of wine and fresh food to China.

"Chile is very well positioned to serve the needs of China in terms of food because Chile is an oasis surrounded by huge geographic barriers that prevent plagues and diseases," Heine said. "Chilean products are very safe and healthy. That is something Chinese consumers value very much."

Li will visit Chile on the final leg of his Latin America tour, which started on May 18 and will end on 26.

Heine said he has high expectations of Li's visit, his first to Latin America as premier.

Li's entourage includes high-level government officials and business people.

"All of this lead us to think this visit will be fruitful and productive," said Heine.