Ambassador Liu Yuqin: “Chilean exports should be more value added”

Ambassador Liu Yuqin, the PRC’s top official in Chile, has some advice for her host country. She feels that, among other things, Chile should increase the number of students studying Mandarin Chinese, stimulate trade in manufactured products and work with China to diversify its export sector.

After 26 years in South America, the career diplomat speaks Spanish quite well. Ambassador Liu served as China’s ambassador to Ecuador before arriving to Chile.

What is the economic outlook between our two nations?

Chile is the only Latin American country with which China has signed an FTA. Bilateral trade has grown a lot due to our FTA, in fact.

Though trade between our two countries exceeded $7 billion during the first half of 2007, we still need to improve the content of the trade. Whereas we are currently focused on products such as copper and cellulose, we need to trade in more value-added products which have more technological content. This is precisely the challenge our two nations face.

Many business groups visit China, but there are very few concrete agreements. I recall one Shanghai businessman telling me that Chile has a very complex set of regulations. If a foreign company wants to invest, the first thing it needs to look for is a partner in Chile. But it can be hard to find the right partner if you just arrived to a new country. The gentleman gave me a very good analogy of the situation. He said it was like being forced to marry someone you do not know very well. It’s just not done, you see.

We must work to insert more Chilean products into (the PRC market). In terms of trade, China has a very large negative balance. That is to say, Chile imports very little from China, in relative terms. More high-technology products need to be traded.

Do you see any possibility for technological cooperation between Chile and China?

Yes, there is definitely an opportunity to accomplish this type of cooperation. Some Chinese companies have already been to Chile in order to study this very issue. (State-run) Minmetals, for instance, recently concluded an agreement with CODELCO to make a joint investment in Mina GABI.

The mine is under construction and should be operational by 2008. China has 24% equity in the operation. This project will serve as an example for other Chinese investors.

The agreement is divided into two parts. One involves trade and the other, investment. The Chinese side is waiting to move ahead with investment, but CODELCO has yet to make a decision.

What types of Chinese expertise would benefit Chile?

China has a great deal of expertise in many areas, but our support will depend on demand in Chile. It's something we have not discussed yet. That question should be asked here. We want to help and we can help.

How do you see the exchange of students between the two nations?

The demand for human resources will increase proportionally to trade. For example, we are certainly going to need more bilingual personnel. There are not many Chinese who speak Spanish. Nor are there many Chinese speakers in Chile. This is a substantial impediment to trade. We need more investment in this area. Fortunately, interest in Chinese language learning is on the rise in Chile.

How can this process be facilitated?

Every year China provides scholarships to young people from other countries, but Chile does not reciprocate. Chile only provides scholarships students from neighboring countries. I believe that the Chilean government has to think of establishing some type of scholarship or seek other ways to attract young Chinese. After all, the cost of living and studying in Chile is very high.

How do you intend to pursue the cultural aspect of bilateral ties?

Our embassy promotes cultural activities. Interest in learning Chinese is growing and we support those initiatives. We have data that indicates 18 Chilean universities teach Mandarin.

We also encourage Chileans to learn more about China. We have developed exhibitions on different topics. I was in the region of Coquimbo where we hosted an exhibit on the natural and cultural heritage of China. The event was very well received.

I hope that in future there are more Chilean specialists and artists who travel to China. This way, maybe the Chinese people will learn a bit more about Chilean culture.

Ambassador Liu's interview (in Spanish)