Center

China, Chile start new FTA talks as one goes into effect

By Ding Qingfen (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-30 08:39

China and Chile will start negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) covering service trade and investment next January, the countries said yesterday.

"The talks are expected to be wrapped up by the end of 2008, or earlier than that, maybe the middle of 2008," said Fernando Reyes Matta, Chile's Ambassador to China.

Though the talks have been on the table since late September, they probably won't "enter into a substantive stage until January 2007," said Zhang Bing, an official of the department of international trade and economic affairs with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

When asked about expected challenges for the coming talks, both were upbeat about the prospects.

"The agreement on service trade and investment, if signed, will further promote bi-lateral trade thanks to the bigger role of the service trade in contributing to China's trade volume," Zhang said.

Matta agreed, saying: "The agreement is good for both China and Chile."

For Zhu Hong, deputy director of the department of international trade and economic affairs under the MOFCOM, the success of the talks depends on the compromises the countries are willing to make.

The new round of talks come at a time when a previous China-Chile FTA came into effect on October 1. In 2005, the two countries signed a deal covering trade in commodities.