Costa Rica and China will sign nine deals on cooperation in investment, trade and tourism during Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez's state visit this week, said the country's ambassador to China ahead of the visit.

 

"China and Costa Rica should practically think about the future of our bilateral relationship, rather than focusing on the past," said Ambassador Antonio Burgues, who was busy preparing for the arrival of his president, who will be in China from today until Sunday.

 

"The visit can boost cooperation in the fields of trade, information and technology, agriculture, and culture and education," said Burgues, adding that more than 60 Costa Rican businessmen will also visit China and an exhibition of Costa Rica commodities will be held in Beijing.

 

The 54-year-old ambassador took up his post last month, two months after the embassy opened. Costa Rica established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China earlier this year after it cut 63-year-long "diplomatic ties" with Taiwan.

 

Arias is the first president to pay a state visit to China since the conclusion of the 17th National Congress of Communist Party of China (CPC), at which the CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao made a speech strongly condemning secessionist activities in Taiwan.

 

As a newly elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Costa Rica will always insist on the one-China policy and recognize the People's Republic of China, said Burgues.

 

"We hope to share more opinions and cooperate more with China in the international arena," said the ambassador, citing the example of the Costa Rican government and people's warm welcome for his Chinese counterpart when the Chinese embassy to Costa Rica opened.

 

Several of Costa Rica's neighbors in Central America still maintain ties with Taiwan.

 

"I can't see supporters of Taiwan in our country any more. China is really friendly to the whole of Latin America," Burgues said.

 

He preferred to see Costa Rica as one of the Latin American countries and one of the 170-plus countries that have diplomatic relations with China.

 

"Asia is a fast-developing region," Burgues said. Speaking from his experience as the Economy, Industry and Trade Minister in Arias' previous government (1986-90) and as president of Costa Rica's Chamber of Exporters for the past 12 years, he said that China's rapid development offers great opportunities.

 

Costa Rica is now the eighth-largest trading partner of China in Latin America and the Caribbean, and China is Costa Rica's second-largest trade partner. Sino-Costa Rican bilateral trade reached US$1.08 billion in 2006 and US$1.56 billion in the first seven months of this year.

 

"Costa Rica is only a small country in Central America with 4.2 million people. Despite the distance and different national realities, both are developing countries and face the challenge of developing their economy and improving the living standards of their people," the ambassador said.

 

He revealed that, besides Beijing, Arias would also visit Shanghai to learn more about the Chinese economy, saying he also planned to research the Chinese market, especially in the eastern metropolises.

 

Recalling his first visit to China as the president of Costa Rica's Chamber of Exporters nine years ago, he said: "What impressed me most was not the booming skyscrapers but the Chinese people's passion to better their lives."

 

When he and his family spend time in Beijing's parks at weekends, "I can see ordinary Chinese people flying kites and walking dogs. They are all friendly to us despite the language obstacle. I really think people in Beijing live as well as people in any developed countries."

 

Burgues said the Chinese people's better life was largely a result of the Chinese government's concept of putting people first, and praised Hu Jintao's views on how to narrow the gap between the urban and rural areas, as well as his emphasis on education and environmental protection at the 17th National Congress of Communist Party of China. He paid attention to these areas because "the two countries have similar problems in these fields."

 

"Personally, I think that Hu Jintao's speech is very concrete and provides practical methods in the face of challenges," Burgues said. He and his colleagues kept a close eye on media reports about the CPC congress.

 

In his opinion, a healthy and harmonious China can be one of the engines for global development.

 

He also stressed the Costa Rican government's willingness to cooperate and share its experiences with China in the areas of environmental protection, the development of clean energy and the promotion of social welfare.

 

To promote mutual understanding, Burgues said China and Costa Rica are negotiating on setting up a Confucius Institute in Costa Rica. "Costa Ricans are very curious about China's 5,000-year history," he said. "Costa Rica is also fresh to the Chinese, which can help both countries' tourism."

 

In fact, China and Costa Rica have conducted technical exchanges since the 1980s. To the surprise of many people in China, "about 85 percent of the chips used in China are made in Costa Rica," the ambassador said.

 

He also said that 60,000 overseas Chinese living in Costa Rica have played an important role in Costa Rica's economic and social development. He cited the example of Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, NASA's first professional astronaut of Chinese origin, saying Costa Ricans were proud of the astronaut, who was born in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.

 

To learn more about China and the Chinese, Burgues is working hard to study Chinese and mobilizing other Costa Rican embassy staff to have weekly Chinese lessons.

 

"I think my efforts can help me to get the two peoples closer economically and culturally. Costa Rican diplomats and our Chinese counterparts are making efforts together to promote further concrete development," Burgues said.

 

(China Daily October 22, 2007)