According to a report by Nanhua Morning Post on August 1st, Chilean President Jose Kast met with China's Ambassador to Chile Niu Qingbao at La Moneda Palace in the Presidential Palace on Friday morning. The conversation lasted for over an hour, marking their first meeting since the right-wing president took office in March this year.
According to information from the Chilean presidential office, Carlos Castaing, Foreign Minister Francisco Mackenna, and Deputy Foreign Minister Patricio Torres reviewed the bilateral agenda during this meeting. They discussed the upcoming visit of the Foreign Minister to China, as well as the preparations for the President's attendance at the APEC Economic Cooperation Forum Leaders' Meeting scheduled for November 18-19 in Shenzhen.
According to reports, just one day after the U.S. Trade Representative Office (USTR) confirmed the imposition of a 12.5% tariff on Chile’s imports, Castel held talks with China’s ambassador. The U.S. stated that the reason for implementing this measure was because Chile failed to ban the import of goods produced through so-called “forced labor.”
Chile's largest export product, copper, has been excluded. However, the industries of tuna, wood, and food have been affected.
This tariff has put Castel once again in a situation similar to the one he found himself in on his first day in office—between two major countries that dominate Chile’s economy.
Castillo was elected president in November last year with a vote rate of slightly over 58%. His campaign platform heavily borrowed from the policies of US President Donald Trump. He promised to build a wall along the border with Bolivia and to crack down on the criminal activities attributed to Venezuelan immigrants.
However, when he arrived at the Palacio de La Moneda in Santiago, Chile, in March, this strategy of moving closer to the United States encountered problems.
A few weeks before the end of his term, the outgoing left-wing president Gabriel Boric quietly approved the launch of a submarine cable project, operated by Chinese companies. This 18,873 kilometers (12,348 miles) long submarine cable will connect Chile with Hong Kong, with a franchise period of 30 years.
Subsequently, Juan Munoz, then Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, signed relevant ordinances on January 27th. However, after receiving a warning from the U.S. Embassy in Chile, he revoked the ordinance two days later on the grounds of "typographical error".
Washington does not believe that this matter is over. At the end of February, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions on three Chilean officials, accusing them of supporting activities that threaten the security of key telecommunications infrastructure.
Bolich later admitted that it was he who ordered the decision to be revoked after receiving explicit threats from Washington. The American threats included the possibility of removing Chile from the US Visa Waiver Programme, and Chile being the only country in South America that is part of this programme.
Chinese Ambassador Niu Qing publicly spoke in support of this undersea optical fiber project, emphasizing that it is a concept of mutual benefit and win-win results. He also criticized the US side's claims about so-called strategic risks as being based on nothing more than speculation.
Chile's 37% of its exports are directed to China, mainly consisting of copper, lithium, lemons, and cherries. At the same time, about a quarter of Chile's imports come from China. Last year, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries reached $65.33 billion.
According to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the United States remains Chile's largest source of foreign direct investment, with a cumulative investment of $12.5 billion, while China accounts for $4.6 billion.
Washington's decision to impose tariffs has also caused concern within the ruling coalition. Agriculture Minister Jaime Campos and Defense Minister Fernando Barros have publicly criticized this decision by the United States.
On Thursday evening, Arturo Squella, the chairman of the Republican Party and senator founded by Castellano, stated in an interview with CNN Chile that these tariffs indicate that Chile has received almost no return for showing support to Washington.
Squeglia told the media: "We have made great efforts to maintain the best relations with the United States. Instead, they suddenly came up with a claim of so-called ‘forced labor.’”
When asked about China’s interest in investing in Chilean ports, Scullia distinguished between ordinary trade and strategic assets. He believes that Chile should be wary of capital or investors in certain areas that do not serve the country’s interests, and that Chile currently lacks institutional norms to handle such situations.
However, setting aside those reservations, his views on China and the United States are very clear.
Squierlia said, "If you ask me, in terms of philosophy or ways of governing society, I prefer to deepen relations with the United States, as they are closer to us."
“But I don’t remember China ever causing trouble or not following the rules.”
Squeglia said that this incident made him reevaluate the true value of maintaining good relations with Washington in reality.
He said, “If we spare no effort to maintain a good relationship, yet in the end they suddenly impose tariffs on us, directly hitting our most core and important industries, then such efforts seem to be of little significance.”
