"The welcome we had here exceeds all our expectations." The voice of the Argentine ambassador in Beijing, Diego Guelar, sounds exultant and optimistic on the other side of the line. It's no wonder: more than 1,000 CEOs of different companies in China signed up to the business forum where Mauricio Macri will speak today and Argentina is positioning itself as a big food supplier for 1.5 billion Chinese people.
Ambassador Guelar assured Infobae that "there is great enthusiasm among businessmen and the Chinese state to invest in Argentina in many areas." The presidential entourage expected no more than 500 entrepreneurs for today's forum. The number of participants, however, doubled expectations.
"Argentina has a historic opportunity in China, not only to receive a large amount of investment in mining, energy, infrastructure, nuclear energy and agribusiness, but also to be China's strategic partner in the sale of food," said Guelar.
According to estimates, 300 million of the 1.5 billion Chinese people willing to consume Argentine foods are in the middle class and are, very importantly, demanding when choosing products. "There is an increasing demand from the middle class in China and this requires us to produce premium quality food with added value," said the Argentine ambassador.
In this regard, presidents Xi Jinping and Macri will make a key announcement at their meeting tomorrow. They will announce the implementation of an agreement so that the Chinese counterpart of Senasa opens an office in Buenos Aires before the end of the year to expedite the phytosanitary controls of products that Argentina will export to the port of Shanghai. This tool will be very useful considering that many commercial food operations to China are hindered when the containers arrive at the port of Shanghai and must overcome phytosanitary control problems. The installation of the Chinese state health office in Argentina will facilitate trade and streamline the flow of products, Government officials stated. This will boost the trade of grains, fresh meats, honey, peas, blueberries, and table grapes. These are foods from Argentina that China has a keen interest in consuming.
In addition, Guelar said, there will be a battery of announcements regarding Chinese mining investments in the province of San Juan, in the Belgrano Cargas railway area, and the construction of nuclear power plants and the two dams in Santa Cruz. According to estimates by the Argentine ambassador, the Chinese project to invest about 30 billion dollars in Argentina in the next 10 years.
Yesterday, president Macri attended the presidents' forum organized by Xi Jinping. He met with Putin, his Russian counterpart, but couldn't have a bilateral meeting with him because of protocol issues. Today, the Argentine president will inaugurate a forum of entrepreneurs and speak to 1,000 CEOs. Tomorrow, he will have an official meeting with Xi Jinping at the People's Palace, where both countries will sign crucial agreements.
Source: infobae.com