On September 1, the opening ceremony of the “8th Annual Meeting of China-Chile Business Council (CCBC)” & “Chile Week 2016” was held in Beijing. The meeting was organized jointly by the China Council for International Investment Promotion (CCIIP) and the Sociedad de Fomento Fabril (SOFOFA). The meeting was attended and presided over jointly by He Wenbo, President of the Chinese Section of CCBC and Chairman of Minmetals, and Francisco Silva, President of the Chilean Section of CCBC and President of Banco Security. Eduardo Frei, former President of the Republic of Chile and Chilean Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Asia Pacific, and Tong Daochi, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM), were also present at the meeting.

At the meeting, He Wenbo and Silva jointly reviewed the achievements in economic and trade cooperation over the past decade since the conclusion of the China-Chile Free Trade Agreement, introduced the situation of macroeconomic development in China and Chile, and explored prospects for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations between China and Chile in the new era. They also expressed their good wishes to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation to a higher level.

In his speech, He Wenbo said that the sustained and sound development of economic and trade investment relations between China and Chile has provided a broad space for development and an important strategic opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation between enterprises and for the joint efforts to promote the recovery of the global economy. Next, the CCBC will, through unremitting efforts and innovations, focus on the research on the upgrade agenda on the China-Chile Free Trade Agreement; it will maintain its advantages and strive for innovation, and promote diversified, in-depth industrial and technical cooperation; enhance the platform effect, provide practical services, consolidate advantages of cooperation in traditional areas, and explore opportunities for development in emerging areas, so as to make new contributions to promoting the development of economic and trade investment in China and Chile.

The research outcome of this annual meeting has been highly praised and positively responded. With a warm atmosphere of exchanges, the meeting obtained good results. Some 260 representatives from government departments, enterprises, business organizations and other organizations from China and Chile were present at the meeting.