Business executives from Costa Rica are working to increase trade with their counterparts in China.
The Chamber of Foreign Commerce and Representatives of Foreign Companies (CRECEX) plans to send a mission of business representatives from Costa Rica, the rest of Central America and the Caribbean to the 100th Canton Festival in China, to be held Oct. 15-30, and the International Textile Fair Oct. 25-28 in Shanghai, China.
The Chamber of Exporters (CADEXCO) and the private initiative China Ya! recently announced that a Costa Rican commercial mission will visit China Oct. 2-14 to meet with Chinese business owners.
“Not only do we consider selling products to China completely viable, but we also want to attract Chinese investment to Central America – we have received information that a few Chinese companies are interested in investing,” said CADEXCO director Mónica Araya.
Other trade fairs Central American business executives will attend between September and November include the Canton Fair, China Juice 2006, Coffee Show China and China Build.
Though Costa Rica does not maintain diplomatic relations with China, it is an attractive trade partner, Araya said.
“I don’t think diplomatic relations are necessary to increase trade with China,” she said. “We’re not going to pressure them in this sense, but we’re going to continue strengthening trade ties.”
Last year, Costa Rica exported $244 million to China.
Businesses interested in being a part of the commercial mission to China can get more information by visiting www.chinaya.org.
Earlier this month, Tico business leaders also forged links with South Korea during a meeting with executives from that country in San José to seek strategic partnerships for increasing trade between the two countries.
