• While Chile’s Economy Minister visited a state-of-the-art battery factory, the Public Works Minister met with China Railway Construction Corporation, one of the world’s largest infrastructure companies.

Today was a day of technical visits in Beijing as part of ProChile’s ChileWeek, an event that lasts through October 20, bringing Chile’s export and investment offering to China.

Chile’s Economy, Development and Tourism Minister Nicolás Grau, Public Works Minister Jessica López, and InvestChile Director Karla Flores toured the facilities of companies with operations in Chile to hear from the companies’ executives and see some technological advances that could land in Chile.

Minister Grau, along with InvestChile’s Investment Commissioner for Asia Vicente Pinto and International Network Coordinator Catalina Pérez, toured the energy storage center of XYZ Storage, a leading Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) solutions provider in China and a subsidiary of SPIC (Pacific Hydro’s parent company).

In addition to meeting with the conglomerate’s president, Gao Ping; XYZ Manager Lian Zhanwei; and the Chairman of Pacific Hydro Chile, Yan Jianting, Minister Grau learned first-hand about the battery manufacturing process and the technological advances in battery development that are already being applied in Latin America at a project in Mexico.

Importantly, renewable energy storage is one of the global energy industry’s main challenges. Given that lithium is crucial to building storage, there are multiple opportunities within the framework of the National Lithium Strategy promoted by the Economy Minister.

First-rate infrastructure

Meanwhile, Public Works Minister Jessica López and InvestChile Director Karla Flores visited the facilities of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), one of the world’s largest infrastructure companies, and met with senior executives.

CRCC has been operating and participating in large-scale projects in Chile since 2016. In 2021, the company won the 32-year concession to improve the Talca-Chillán section of Route 5 South, involving an investment of US$804 million. In early 2022, it won the tender for the new Coquimbo Hospital, requiring an investment of approximately US$274 million. In late 2022, the company expanded its presence with a second concession for the Chillán-Collipulli section of Route 5, committing to invest US$596 million.

Check out the best images from Wednesday at ChileWeek China 2023: