President Visits South Korea And China Before Singapore APEC Meeting

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet departed on Monday for a weeklong tour of Asia aiming to reassure trade partners that December's presidential election will not affect Chile's pan-Pacific economic relations.

Bachelet will discuss future trade agreements with the leaders of South Korea and China before attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on  November 14-15.

“This is one of the President's most important tours,” Foreign Relations Undersecretary Alberto Van Klaveren said. “She (President Bachelet) will reinforce our commitment to Asia and the APEC group.”

The head of state will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss the two countries’ trade relationship. Future exchanges in energy and culture are slated for discussion as well.

The 2004 Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Chile and South Korea has dramatically increased trade between the two countries. Last year bilateral trade totaled US$7.1 billion.

While in Seoul the President will deliver the closing speech at a meeting of the South Korea-Latin America forum. Asian business leaders convened the meeting on Monday to discuss potential investment with Latin American economic officials.

Bachelet will then hold trade negotiations with Chinese premier Hu Jintao before launching a Mandarin language promotional website at the Chile expo in Shanghai. The expo showcases “Chile to China,” encouraging trade and tourism from the world's second largest economy.

China has replaced the US as Chile's biggest trade partner and now buys 23 percent of Chile’s exports. Potential further links were recently outlined in plans for increased Chinese investment in Chile's copper industry (ST 21 Oct).

The final stop on the Asia tour will see Bachelet attend this weekend's Singapore APEC forum. APEC is a group of 21 member states that Chile joined in 1994. The forum aims to increase economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region.

Though not a formal trade association, studies show that APEC members prefer to trade amongst themselves. A survey conducted by economists found APEC members were three times more likely to sell and twice as likely to buy from another member state.

Plans to create a unilateral APEC free trade agreement by 2011 will also be discussed at the meeting.

During the summit President Bachelet will hold talks with Singapore leader Lee Hsien Loong and the premiers of Brunei and New Zealand. The four countries compose the separate P4 free trade association and will discuss admitting further members to the group.

In 2008 the US expressed an interest in signing the P4 agreement, but negotiations have since been stalled by the Obama administration. Peru is understood to be a one of the nations currently under consideration, with Bachelet keen to include another Latin American country.

“It obviously interests us (Chile) to promote further cooperation between our Latin American neighbors and the rest of the Pacific,” said Undersecretary Van Klaveren.

SOURCES: LA NACION, LA TERCERA, KOREATIMES.CO.KR,STRAITSTIMES.ASIA1.COM.SG
By James Fowler ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )