I ate this Chilean apple in the taxi on the way to the airport, as I left Beijing. It cost 7 RMB (slightly more than one dollar). It tasted decent — not amazingly crisp and juicy, but also not too mealy and gross. I probably should have peeled it.

This is just one of the fruits of this increasingly important bilateral relationship (pun intended).

Here is a good description of the recent developments in China-Chile relations, as summarized by Pacific Trek, a “a transpacific consulting, research, and training enterprise focused on establishing transpacific links between both East Asia and Latin America with strong networks in both regions.”

China-Chile Cooperation

by Bernardita Gonzalez

In recent months there has been a tremendous increase in cooperation between Chile and China, which has emerged as a consequence of years of bilateral friendship and later partnership.

According to ECLAC, China and Latin America’s economic exchange grew more than 1000% between 2000 and 2010.

Chinese interest in Latin American markets is on the rise; Chile aims to become a platform from which china could access Latin America generally and the southern cone region specifically.

In November 2005, Chile became the first Latin American country to sign a Free Trade Agreement with China. Since then, China has become the first destination for Chilean exports, as of 2010.

Today, China is increasingly seen as one of the major world powers with the economic potential to overtake the United States in the next few years. This is the time to tighten the ties between the Chinese and the Chilean economies.

Recently, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited Chile in a gesture intended to increase cooperation between the two countries. Mr. Xi stated an expectation that “Strategic cooperation” between China and Chile in various areas would enhance trade and partnership.

Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera and Vice President Xi Jinping signed nine agreements in different areas, including banking and telecommunications, in order to increase specific agreements and cooperation.  Chile’s state mining company Codelco signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China Minmetals Corp, which will boost cooperation in that area.

One of the most interesting announcements was a cooperation agreement between Banco Estado (Chile’s State Bank) and Development Bank of China.

Overall, this seems to be a good year for Chileans interested in investing in China and for Chinese entrepreneurs interested in broadening their market by opening branches in Chile and Latin America. The road is paved to increase and strengthen economic cooperation.

I first encountered evidence of China-Chile relations in an elevator in Shanghai in 2007:

After spotting this sign in the elevator, I did some research. ProChile, the government agency that focuses on export promotion, sponsored a campaign from 2005-2007 to introduce white-collar Chinese to Chile. I found a fascinating presentation from a company called BraiNet Communications, that showed the results of its research on how the Chinese viewed Chile. Here’s my favorite slide:

Apparently Chile seems more like like a “Mature Male, Mid-aged” than “an outspoken young man full of vitality.”

Call in the nation branding makeover team!?  Or do you think a mature, middle-aged male of a country could make some reliably good wine, the kind you’d love to buy at one of those fancy downstairs-in-a-mall supermarkets in Beijing?  Curious to hear what you think.