The Ministry of Commerce said on Friday that after the upgrade of the China Chile Free Trade Zone , more projects will be exempted from tariffs and exemptions may cover 98% of bilateral trade projects.
The ministry said in a statement that the China Chile Free Trade Zone will be the country’s highest level of openness in trade in goods.
The renewal of the China Chile Free Trade Zone agreement signed in 2017 took effect on Friday. Accordingly, China will gradually eliminate tariffs on some wood products in Chile within three years, and Chile will immediately lift tariffs on Chinese goods such as textiles, clothing, home appliances and sugar products.
“The protocol will further explore the potential of bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and Chile and increase the level of trade liberalization and facilitation between the two countries,” the ministry said.
Wei Jianguo, vice chairman of the China International Economic Exchange Center, said that China-Chile economic and trade cooperation can be further enriched and is conducive to deepening China-Latin America relations.
Wei Jingsheng said that China’s demand for Chilean fruit, meat and other agricultural products is increasing, and the potential for cooperation in e-commerce and the environment is huge.
According to official data, bilateral trade volume reached 42.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 24%, accounting for nearly one-third of Chile’s total foreign trade. Chile mainly exports mineral and forestry products to China, mainly importing textiles, light industrial products, electronic and mechanical products from China.
The China Chile Free Trade Zone signed in 2005 was the first free trade agreement signed between China and Latin American countries. In 2017, China and Chile upgraded the free trade agreement, including agreements dealing with government procurement, competition policy and e-commerce.
The ministry said that in terms of trade in services, the two sides will open more departments to each other on the basis of the agreement.
For example, China will open more than 20 industries, including legal services, entertainment services and distribution, while Chile will promote the opening of more than 40 industries including express, transportation and construction.
Chilean ambassador to China, Louis Schmidt, said in an interview with China Daily earlier that Chile and China reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism and the principle of free trade, as protectionism and anti-globalization dominate.
He said: “We are very grateful to an important country like China for taking the defense of free trade and multilateralism and playing a leading role in fighting climate change.”
News Source: China Daily
