BEIJING – The third Chile Week in China opened Wednesday in Beijing aiming to bolster economic relations, commercial partnership and attract more investment and technology cooperation.

Former Chilean President and Ambassador on Special Mission to Asia-Pacific Eduardo Frei addressed the opening of the event, which aims at attracting Chinese investment in Chile and promoting joint ventures.

“We are perhaps the most famous Latin-American country in China,” said Frei, adding that Chile is working hard with new alternatives for cooperation in the future.

China is Chile’s largest trading partner and the Latin American country is the largest fruit exporter and the third-largest wine exporter to China, with growing exports of other products such as seafood.

During the first half of 2017, exports of goods and services to China rose 7 percent year-on-year, reaching almost $2.1 billion.

Although a majority of Chilean exports to China is copper, Frei told EFE that the two countries are working toward a complete relationship and access to new technologies in order to move away from being a raw material exporter in the long-run.

He mentioned that China’s investment in Latin America was traditionally directed towards countries such as Venezuela, Cuba or Ecuador through government pacts, although Chile maintains a unique relationship with China.

“They need to have joint ventures in Chile. They need to bring new technologies,” he said and added that Japan has invested about $30 billion in Chile over the past ten years, an example that Chile expects China to follow.

The Chile Week will conclude on Sept. 8 and covers seminars, business meetings, bilateral meets and gastronomic events in Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Shenzen, and Wuhan.