A logistics worker transports imported Chilean cherries by forklift at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on November 20, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of China Eastern Airlines

China welcomes Chile to continue to hold Chile Week events in China and is pleased to see increasingly closer mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries which deliver tangibly to our peoples, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday, when commenting on the ongoing Chile Week China, which is the largest-scale and highest-level promotion event that Chile has held in China for several consecutive years.

China and Chile are good friends and good partners. The two countries have highly complementary economies, extensive common interests, and broad cooperation areas, Lin noted.

At the opening ceremony of the Chile Week China on Monday, Chilean government officials and business representatives expressed their willingness to further delve into the Chinese market.

During this year's event, the agricultural sector played a particularly important role. The Chilean delegation to Beijing consisted of representatives from 25 companies in the agricultural sector, along with representatives from other industries, the Global Times learned from the Chilean Embassy in China.

This promotional event is being held on December 1 to 7, with a series of promotional and exchange activities in four Chinese cities, including Hangzhou, the capital city of East China's Zhejiang Province, for the first time, according to the embassy.

The Chile Week China, now in its ninth edition, is a reflection of how Chilean businesses are growing in the Chinese market and highlights the importance of trade with China for the Latin American country.

Fruitful cherries

Among all the Chilean products to China, cherries have been a symbol of the fruitful bilateral trade ties. Very recently, a freighter from China Eastern Air Logistics carrying 76 tons of fresh Chilean cherries arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport from Santiago, the capital of Chile, after a 25-hour journey of 19,300 kilometers. 

This event marks the 10th anniversary since the China Eastern Air Logistics, a domestic logistics company, started to transport cherries with all-cargo freighter planes from the South American market.

Cherries from Chile serve as the country's signature product, helping (Chinese) people learn more about Chile, the Chilean Ambassador to China Mauricio Hurtado said, further noting that "We believe this will positively impact our relationship with China."

In recent years, Chilean cherries have become more popular across China. During the 2023-24 harvest season, the Chinese market consumed a total of 377,000 tons of Chilean cherries, accounting for 91 percent of Chile's total cherry exports, according to media reports.

According to the Chilean Fruit Cherries Committee, Chilean cherry exports in the 2024-25 production season will increase by 59 percent compared with the previous season. China will continue to be the main export destination for cherries.

As cherry trade continues to grow, the ambassador predicated that through deeper cooperation, the annual export of the overall fresh agricultural products from Chile to China is expected to grow by 6 to 10 percent each year.

Imported Chilean cherries Photo: Courtesy of China Eastern Airlines

Embrace opportunities

Cherry exports are just a microcosm of the fruitful bilateral ties, as more Chilean businesses across various sectors are seizing the opportunities presented by the vast Chinese market. During the Chile Week China on Monday, Rodrigo Valenzuela, a business partner for La Junta Wines, told the Global Times that Chinese market has been a very important market for his business, he has frequently travelled to China over the last 15 years and has exported his company's wine products to China since 2010.

"The business is doing fine this year as we are trying to expand our businesses to more cities in China," Valenzuela said.

"This year, we expect our wine exports to China to grow by more than 200 percent in terms of volume… I think the Chinese market is changing and Chinese consumers are willing to spend more on high quality products such as wine and we are tapping into this opportunity," Valenzuela said.

In addition to wine, beef business also sees strong momentum for growth. The Chinese market takes around 85 percent of the global market for Chilean beef exports, and there is a good trend to maintain the strong exports, Rafael Lecaros Van der Goes, general manager of Chilemeat-Faenacar AG, told the Global Times on Monday.

This year, the export business of beef to China has been stable in terms of volume, and we expect Chinese market to get better and our export volume to increase further, Lecaros Van der Goes said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Chile Week China in Beijing on Monday, the Chilean Ambassador acknowledged the fact that a significant portion of the country's exports are being sold in China, which has become one of the most important markets for Chilean exports.

There are vast opportunities for cooperation in areas such as culture and tourism, education, art, sustainable development, and green energy, and "we look forward to achieving even greater success in the Chinese market," the ambassador said.

China has been Chile's largest trading partner and largest export market for more than 10 years. In the first three quarters of this year, bilateral trade exceeded $41.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent, accounting for one-third of Chile's total foreign trade, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

Moreover, Hurtado noted that the competition in the Chinese market is fierce, "so Chilean exporters and industries must innovate more and continually introduce new, high-quality products to meet the growing demands and high standards of the Chinese market."

The Foreign Affairs Minister of Chile Alberto van Klaveren Stork is paying an official visit to China at invitation of Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and minister of foreign affairs from Tuesday to Thursday, as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian announced on Monday.

"The visit of the Chilean foreign minister is expected to inject new momentum into bilateral relations, not only in traditional trade but also in the digital sector, green economy, and investment, where both sides complement each other," Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday, indicating a vast potential in bilateral ties.