Four days before the one year anniversary of the deadly earthquake that shook southwest China in May 2008 and killed more than 68,000 people, Chilean Ambassador to China Fernando Reyes Matta hailed the efforts of the Chinese government for recovering from the tragedy.

"The Chinese government has made great efforts in face of the disaster, such as to raise the spirit of the people and to show the strong will of the people to defeat the adversity and to fulfill the task of important work," Reyes said in an interview with Xinhua on Friday.

On May 12, 2008, an earthquake measuring eight on the Richter scale shook China's southwestern province of Sichuan, leaving more than 68,000 people dead, nearly 18,000 others missing, and over 374,000 injured. In addition, millions of people were left homeless in the disaster.

"One year after the earthquake, the adversity tested the capability of the Chinese people to address such huge difficulties and to turn the hard, dramatic and sad moment into an opportunity," said Reyes, who was now in Chile.

Reyes said Chile helped with the construction of eight classrooms for Chinese students in the affected region, and helped Chinese companies set up concrete projects in Sichuan.

On China's stimulus package of about 586 billion U.S. dollar to tackle the global financial crisis, Reyes said the world considered the measures adopted by the Chinese government "as successful, precise and timely, and they have boosted the Chinese economy."

Describing the Chile-China relations as "excellent and optimum," he said the two countries have maintained regular contacts through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum or other mechanisms in the last 10 years.

He said the strategy of Chilean and Chinese mining companies to seek joint ventures in Latin America and Africa indicated "what are we going to continue in the future."

The Union Associations of Chinese Businessmen in Chile will "serve to encourage the participation of Chinese businessmen in building a bridge between Chile and China, working day by day to create new possibilities for both countries," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2009)