Chile

Note: This column mainly includes countries along the Belt and Road and countries that have signed cooperation agreements with China on Belt and Road Initiative.

The strategic partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Chile experienced in-depth growth in 2013.

The two countries enjoyed close exchanges at the top and other levels. In October, President Xi Jinping and Chilean President Sebastián Piñera Echenique held a bilateral meeting during the 21st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bali, Indonesia. They had an in-depth exchange of views on deepening exchanges and cooperation in various fields and reached important consensus. The two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of the MOUs on the establishment of the Permanent Binational Commission and the Mechanism for Strategic Dialogue for Economic Cooperation and Coordination. In December, President Xi sent a congratulatory message to Michelle Bachelet Jeria on her election as President of Chile. Vice CPPCC Chairman Li Zhaozhuo visited Chile. The seventh meeting of the political dialogue committee between the National People's Congress and the Chilean Parliament was held in Beijing.

Economic cooperation and trade between the two countries continued to deepen. China remained Chile's largest trading partner and largest export destination. Chile was China's third largest trading partner and largest supplier of copper in Latin America. Chilean Minister of Transport and Telecommunication Pedro Pablo Errázuriz Domínguez, and Minister of Agriculture Luis Mayol Bouchon visited China. Cooperation between the two countries in such fields as agriculture, new energy and infrastructure made progress.

The two countries maintained close coordination at the United Nations, APEC and other international organizations and multilateral mechanisms.

Fruitful results were reached in scientific, technological and cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. The China National Space Administration and the Chilean Agriculture Ministry singed an MOU on earth observation cooperation. The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile signed an MOU on astronomic cooperation. The South American Astronomic Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China-Chile Joint Research Center for Astronomy, China's first overseas astronomic research institution, was established in Chile. Activities of the "Chinese Culture Week" were successfully held in many places in Chile.

Military-to-military cooperation between the two countries was further enhanced. Political Commissar of the PLA General Armament Department General Wang Hongyao, Political Commissar of the PLA Air Force General Tian Xiusi visited Chile. Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army General Juan Miguel Fuente-Alba Poblete visited China. A Chinese naval fleet visited Chile and held a joint military exercise with the Chilean navy.