Source: Casa Presidencial

On the first day of her visit to the People’s Republic of China, President Laura Chinchilla initiated an agreement that will allow GeSolar, a Chinese utility company work with a counterpart from Costa Rica in the development of a solar power plant. Our President was witness to the signing of the agreement between GeSolar and GreenerSys, and as the documents were executed she indicated that:

“I am pleased to see national companies allied with Chinese businesses for the purpose of building a renewable energy plant in our country. This is an excellent example of how we can combine our strengths to develop mutually beneficial projects.”

Earlier today in China, our President and the delegation from Costa Rica participated in a forum about trade, investment and tourism in Costa Rica, which was organized by the Chinese Council for Development of International Commerce, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, as well as the government-supported agencies PROCOMER and CINDE. At this forum, more than 15 Chinese enterprises listened to the advantages that Costa Rica presents as an international destination not just for tourism, but also for investment.

President Laura Chinchilla took advantage of this moment to commemorate the first anniversary of the Free Trade Agreement between Costa Rica and China:

“This agreement brings a solid and efficient framework to ease trade and investment. We are working on forums just like this one so that we can move to our second stage of our relation with China, in which we will take full advantage of the opportunities we have opened up, with the goal of generating greater economic growth for our communities.”

The Minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel Gonzales, showed off her Mandarin language skills with a warm greeting. She also remarked that there is genuine interest shown by the Chinese to explore very opportunity available to them, including getting to know products made in Costa Rica.

According to data released by the Presidential Office in Zapote, trade with China has been on rising trend over the last ten years, with an annual rate of increase calculated at a strong 37.7 percent. Chinese exports to Costa Rica during that period have increase by 40.1 percent, while imports have climbed 30.3 percent on an annual basis.

President Laura Chinchilla also met with the Mayor of Shanghai and exchange ideas on commerce and trade. Our President invited the Mayor to visit Costa Rica and congratulated the students of Shanghai on their excellent scores shown on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) administered by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).