Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced here Friday that China and Chile have reached agreement on trade in cargo which is an important step towards the establishment of their free trade area (FTA).

The agreement was reached Friday night in Beijing after five rounds of negotiations.

The two sides removed the discrepancies through friendly talks during the fifth round negotiation held Oct. 24-28, and finally reached agreement on FTA trade in cargo.

China and Chile are expected to sign the agreement on trade in cargo within this year and implement it as soon as possible, said MOC in its press release.

Chile is then likely to become China's second trade partner to build FTA, only after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The FTA between China and Chile, if initiated, would help further development of the economic and trade relations as well as political relations between the two countries.

China and Chile would take the opportunity of the FTA to enhance the bilateral relations to a higher level, said MOC.

Chilean Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker paid a visit to China during the negotiation and held friendly talks with Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai.

China-Chile FTA negotiation was announced to start by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his counterpart Ricardo Lagos on Nov. 18, 2004. The two countries have since held five rounds of negotiations on market access, rules of origin, technical barrier to trade and trade remedy.

Source: Xinhua