Interview: Chilean president highlights strategic partnership with China

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has highlighted the importance of the Chile-China strategic partnership and expected Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit would push forward the relationship to a new height.

"We have very important political and commercial ties with China," Bachelet said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua prior to Xi's visit.

Chile, the last leg of Xi's Latin America trip, which has taken him to Ecuador and Peru, has always led in developing relations with China.

Chile is the first South American nation that forged diplomatic ties with China, the first Latin American country that signed a bilateral accord with China on China's entry into the World Trade Organization and signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with China.

"In the current global context, China continues to be our leading trade partner," said Bachelet.

With the FTA signed in 2005, bilateral trade reached nearly 32 billion U.S. dollars in 2015.

"We have increased non-copper exports, such as food products," Bachelet said.

It is now "time to modernize it (FTA) and adjust it to today's circumstances," said Bachelet, adding that the two countries are working together on the possibility of expanding it.

Besides, China has expressed its willingness to broaden the list of exportable services and assess the possibility of expanding e-commerce, which would increase trade diversity, said Bachelet.

"I am sure that expanding the FTA is going to be, without a doubt, one of the topics of discussion with President Xi," said Bachelet.

"Chinese leaders' visits to Latin America have shown their intention to continue to promote greater integration with Latin America, and in the case of Chile, they shared willingness to work on different matters of a bilateral agenda," said Bachelet.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Chile in 2015, according to Bachelet, has consolidated the close ties between China and Chile.

During Li's stay in Chile, the two countries signed a series of bilateral business contracts and governmental accords in politics, trade, finance, mining, agriculture, production capacity and science and technology.

The two sides signed a three-year currency swap deal worth 3.5 billion dollars and designated the Santiago branch of the China Construction Bank as the first clearing bank for transactions in Chinese currency renminbi in South America.

The moves "have allowed us to diversify the reserves of the Central Bank of Chile, decreasing our dependence on the U.S. dollar," the president said.

The Week of Chile in China, which has been held in 2015 and 2016, has showcased the business opportunities Chile can offer to Chinese investors and let both sides identify important areas for cooperation, said Bachelet.

"We want more Chinese investment in Chile and a greater Chilean presence in China, and there are areas that are key (to achieving that goal), such as infrastructure, financial services, tourism and, obviously, culture," said Bachelet.

"In Chile, we have already started Mandarin Chinese studies to facilitate more exchanges ... to let us learn more about each other and have greater experiences," said Bachelet.

Regional mechanisms are also in place to facilitate exchanges, she said, such as the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Endi