Interview: Chinese premier's visit to Chile "expression of friendship" -- Chilean FM

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming visit to Chile is an expression of the strategic ties and friendship between the two countries, Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz said.

"The bilateral relationship -- economically, socially and politically speaking -- is excellent and that is evident from Li Keqiang's visit and previous visits from current leader Xi Jinping in 2011, when he was vice president, and from former Premier Wen Jiabao in 2012," Munoz told Xinhua in an exclusive interview prior to Li's visit to Chile.

Li is set to arrive Sunday in Chile, the last leg of his four-nation Latin American tour which has already taken him to Brazil, Colombia and Peru.

Li's Latin American tour also demonstrates China's new presence in the region, said Munoz, noting that the Asian giant is the biggest trade partner of several Latin American nations, including Chile.

Trade between Chile and China amounted to more than 34 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, or 23 percent of Chile's total foreign trade.

Li's visit is a new opportunity to expand ties, not just in trade, but also in investment, for mutual benefits, said Munoz.

"Culturally and politically, there is a very close relationship, reflected in the fact that in 2012 Chile and China decided to declare that our relationship was of a strategic character."

This latest visit represents another milestone in the progress of bilateral ties as the two countries are expected to sign a joint plan of action and a bilateral extradition treaty, among other accords, said Munoz.

The two countries are also set to sign a memorandum of understanding to deepen the existing bilateral free trade agreement, which went into effect in 2006. They will also sign an agreement on the prevention of double taxation in trade, and an agreement on the opening of a branch in Chile of the China Construction Bank.

"We're very thrilled by the quality of the bilateral relationship, which will be reflected in these multiple accords," said Munoz, adding that he hoped the visit will also generate investment projects.

The two nations have "fluid" cooperation within the UN Security Council, where China is a permanent member and Chile is a non-permanent member, he said.

Chile will host the next China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum in 2018, a decision made at the previous forum in Beijing. The decision reflects China's confidence in Chile, he said.

Chile was the first South American nation to grant China diplomatic recognition, he noted.

"As China says, we have had many firsts: we were the first in establishing bilateral ties, in signing a free trade agreement, in supporting China's membership in the World Trade Organization, among other things," Chile's top diplomat said.

When asked about the creation of a free trade area encompassing the 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum and the viability of the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Munoz said such economic cooperation plans "are not (mutually) exclusive."

Countries need to pursue free and open trade with an eye toward greater prosperity and job creation, he said.

"Chile is interested in continuing to participate in the TPP negotiations, as long as they represent advantages for our country and we can protect our weak areas."

Similarly, Chile is keen on China's proposal to study the viability of an eventual free trade area with the APEC economies, he said.

"Both proposals are important for Chile, and I don't consider them as contradictory."

On Chinese President Xi's proposal to create a "community of common destiny" between China and Latin America, Munoz said that China and Chile have similar objectives, such as growth, social justice, poverty relief, equality, sustainable development and environmental protection.

"We belong to a globalized and interdependent world, where countries cannot solve problems that are often of a global nature, such as global warming, in an isolated way."

In a broader message to the Chinese people, Munoz said Chile is looking forward to the Chinese premier's visit, especially in the lead-up to the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, which will be marked by a cultural "Week of Chile" in Beijing and Shanghai, and a dialogue on economic cooperation. Endi