China, Peru reap more development opportunities in strengthened economic, trade exchanges

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

By Jiang Bo, People's Daily

It is also the first Latin American country to sign a package of free trade agreements with China.

In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, cooperation between China and Peru has yielded fruitful results in various fields, with a series of pragmatic cooperation projects contributing to Peru's economic development and livelihood improvement.

About 500 kilometers from Lima, Peru's capital, a busy harvest scene unfolds at a blueberry farm owned by Camposol, a company based in the city of Trujillo. Since entering the Chinese market in 2009, Camposol has steadily increased both the variety and volume of its exports to China, with products like blueberries, avocados, and grapes gaining growing popularity among Chinese consumers.

In April 2009, China and Peru signed a free trade agreement (FTA), which officially came into effect in 2010 and serves as a catalyst for bilateral trade growth. In June of this year, the two countries announced the completion of negotiations on upgrading the FTA.

Thanks to the FTA, Peru's non-traditional products have begun to reach Chinese households. Peru has become the largest supplier of blueberries and avocados to China, with products such as quinoa, grapes, maca, alpaca wool, among others, gaining popularity in the Chinese market.

It is reported that China and Peru are actively negotiating on issues such as the export of high-quality Peruvian frozen fruits to China, and positive progress has been made.

"The Peru-China FTA has provided significant impetus for Peruvian agricultural products to enter the Chinese market. By reducing trade barriers and lowering market access, the FTA has created new opportunities for Peruvian producers, driving the development of Peruvian agriculture," said Luis Baanante, general manager of Camposol China.

In recent years, China has become the company's fastest-growing and most promising market. In order to further expand exports to China, the company established an office in Shanghai in 2017, Baanante said. Currently, the company's sales network covers most regions in China.

The Chinese and Peruvian economies are highly complementary. With joint efforts from both sides, China has become Peru's largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years, and Peru is the second largest investment destination of China in Latin America. In 2023, the bilateral trade volume reached $37.69 billion. According to Peruvian statistics, over the past 14 years, Peru's exports to China have grown by 325.9 percent, with an average annual growth of 13.2 percent.

Teresa Mera, vice-minister for Foreign Trade of Peru's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, said that the increasing market demand in China has driven the vigorous development of Peru's export industry. The signing of the FTA has greatly enhanced the level of trade between Peru and China. Since the agreement came into effect, Peru's non-traditional exports to China have increased by 227 percent, making Peru the second largest fruit supplier to China in Latin America.

The increasing economic and trade exchanges between China and Peru are bringing new opportunities to more and more Peruvian small and medium-sized enterprises. The Peruvian alpaca wool product brand Warmpaca has joined the China International Import Expo for seven consecutive years and has gained popularity among Chinese consumers.

Today, Warmpaca products are sold in more than 30 shopping malls in China. The brand has also expanded to e-commerce platforms, selling over 30,000 products each year.

Julio Perez Alvan, president of the Peruvian Association of Exporters, said that since 2010, China has grown into the fifth largest export market for Peruvian non-traditional products, up from the ninth place, which demonstrates the enormous potential for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

The association will promote more high-quality Peruvian products to China, aiming to achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, the president added.