A workshop held in Shanghai by the two agencies reviewed and sought to deepen their principal areas of collaboration on investment promotion.

“We want to learn more about CIPA’s work, how it carries out its work in the regions of China and, above all, its work in promoting investment,” said Cristián Rodríguez, director of InvestChile, at the beginning of the meeting with Liu Dianxun, director general of the China Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), who, in turn, indicated that his agency’s “interest is to collaborate with our partners outside China and that is why this bilateral meeting is so important to us.”

At the meeting, held in Shanghai, a series of mutual cooperation initiatives were discussed, with a view to deepening the memorandum of understanding signed by the two agencies in 2006.

Given CIPA’s importance globally, the authorities talked about the main lines of its investment promotion strategy, its organizational structure and forms of collaboration with other public organizations and local partners on public policy and the legal framework as well as the agency’s regional approach to investment.

They also discussed the relevance of foreign direct investment in China’s One Belt, One Road strategy and the importance of marketing plans, including particularly the use of digital tools for data analysis. In this context, the authorities agreed to maintain permanent contact and exchange best practices.

Liu Dianxun also pointed out that China pays great attention to its macroeconomic policies and to mechanisms of mutual cooperation as part of its strategy of openness.

“Global investment flows have not been so positive this year; I think that is related to trade protectionism,” he said. However, he emphasized that “the Chinese economy is very stable and on the right road” so “Chinese investment in the world will grow.”

Cristián Rodríguez took the opportunity to give his CIPA counterpart a copy of the first Chinese edition of InvestChile’s Foreign Investor’s Guide, a key tool for doing business in Chile.

“The Foreign Investor’s Guide, which was presented during Chile Week China 2018, is the first of its kind to be published in Chinese by a Latin American country and seeks to create closer ties with our partners, responding to the growing interest of Chinese companies in information about our country,” said Cristián Rodríguez. Liu Dianxun praised the Guide, which he described as “very good and practical”.

“In my experience, many Chinese companies are interested in having a presence in South America. There is great potential for Chinese companies to invest in Chile and for Chilean companies to invest in China,” he added.

Cristián Rodríguez also mentioned that InvestChile plans to add China to its network of overseas offices. This was welcomed by Liu Dianxun as facilitating mutual cooperation.

About CIPA

CIPA’s work consists in both attracting foreign capital to China and promoting the internationalization of Chinese companies. To this end, it cooperates with international economic organizations, other investment promotion agencies, chambers of commerce and trade associations on behalf of China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

The Chinese agency holds bilateral meetings with countries and organizations in representation of the government. In addition, it receives delegations and organizes fairs in different regions of the country of which the largest is the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT).

Pictures of the meeting