Interview: Costa Rica-China cooperation enjoys more opportunities, says President Solis

by Javier Cordoba

SAN JOSE, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Costa Rica and China will create more opportunities to expand cooperation to boost the development of the Central American country, President Luis Guillermo Solis said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

For example, Solis said, the China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai in November will be an extraordinary opportunity for countries across the world to show their commitments to globalization.

"There is no doubt that the Import Expo will be a crucial occasion for the reactivation of international programs favoring trade," he said, adding that the event will be of the highest importance for ties between China and Latin America.

Costa Rica has a great variety of high-quality products to be showcased, which, together with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, make the country's presence in Shanghai a priority in its trade agenda this year, Solis said.

China and Costa Rica signed the FTA in 2010.

Noting that Costa Rica has already exported pineapples, pork and shrimps to China, the president called on more companies to attend the event.

"We are certain that the export of high-quality products from Costa Rica to China will dramatically increase," he said.

"Costa Rica has a solid trading platform (with China) and it also sustains an important political dialogue on issues of common interest," he added.

Solis said Costa Rica also plays an important role in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to achieve infrastructure, trade and people-to-people connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes, building a new platform for international cooperation to create new drivers of growth.

China has important projects in Costa Rica such as the building of the national stadium, the national police academy, and Route 32 that connects the capital San Jose to the main port of Puerto Limon, Solis said.

Costa Rica has invested over 1 billion U.S. dollars in a new container terminal in this port, which will help promote the country's future development, he pointed out.

Solis said he believes that the country's relations with China will remain positive in the years to come.

"Costa Rica can learn from China's best practices in the building of ports, airports, highways and other infrastructure projects," he said, adding the two countries should also strengthen cooperation in trade and science and technology.

Costa Rica must make full use of the FTA with China and make China a trading partner of top priority, Solis said. Enditem