21 Jan 2022

The sixth edition of Chile Week in China was attended by numerous national and international authorities with the aim of strengthening commercial relations between Chilean and Chinese companies as China is the number one destination for Chilean exports. The Seminar addressed issues of sustainability, e-mobility, green energy, connectivity and biomaterials.

The sixth Chile Week was held in Shanghai, China, last December. An investment roadshow that seeks to encourage commercial relations between China and Chile, the week facilitates meetings between business leaders and authorities from both countries, providing an opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics. It is organised by ProChile, an agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that seeks to promote Chile’s industrial offerings to the world. 

One of the most important topics during the event was sustainability, which is why CMPC and ProChile organized a seminar entitled "Chile & China: A Sustainable Partnership", in which topics including e-mobility, smart factories, and biomaterials, among others, were discussed. Both national and foreign authorities took part. Representing Chile were the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Gloria Hutt, the Undersecretary of Energy, Francisco Javier López, and the Ambassador of Chile in China, Luis Schmidt, who thanked CMPC for organizing the event and highlighted CMPC’s own progress in terms of sustainability. 

Chile’s Commercial Attaché in Shanghai, Juan José Vidal, pointed to the importance of this type of event, saying they were fundamental for creating new commercial relations for the country and strengthening existing ones. "It seems to me that this is the beginning of further possible activities that we could develop by delivering solutions and working together to promote Chile’s industries in the market.” 

In addition, he highlighted the importance of prioritizing sustainability at events such as Chile Week, underlining CMPC’s role here. "In recent years CMPC has actively worked to position itself on sustainability issues and has done so successfully with projects that have been prosperous for the country. Seminars such as the one held in Shanghai allow us to learn more about the company’s work and its progress as well as serving as an example for other companies that want to replicate CMPC’s model and enter the Chinese market," he said. 

Chile Week is an event recognized globally by the business world with considerable reach. According to figures from ProChile, the 2021 event managed to reach more than 20 million people through different digital platforms. Some 4,500 people streamed the Sustainability Seminar. 

The objective of the seminar was to strengthen business relations between countries by opening new focus on collaboration in sustainability and innovation. By doing so, it is expected both to strengthen the presence of the products of Chilean companies in the Chinese market, and to develop new alliances with Chinese technology companies that could support Chilean firms to meet their objectives of modernization and sustainable development.

"For us it was a great opportunity to participate in an event as important as this and even more so as part of the organization of a seminar of international relevance. We face a tremendous challenge in the face of global warming and that is why dealing with this issue collaboratively is crucial. The commercial relationship between Chile and China is very strong and is increasingly focused on environmental commitment, so we can only draw positive conclusions from these occasions", said Nicolás Gordon, CMPC's Sustainability Manager.

The seminar was divided into four sessions. The first was e-mobility and 5G, with presentations from Minister Gloria Hutt and Chinese mobility technology companies based on electricity and hydrogen. It was followed by renewable and alternative energies, in which Francisco Javier López spoke about Chile's plan to become one of the main producers of green hydrogen in the world. It also introduced Nari, a subsidiary of China's state-owned energy company, which focuses on power charging systems for industrial operations.

The third session looked at the forest industry, with Nicolás Gordon, CMPC’s Sustainability Manager, and Felipe Alcalde, Manager of Innovation and Information, presenting on sustainable industrial management and the creation of new biomaterials to achieve a more efficient value chain.

Finally, Catalina Pérez, InvestChile's Investment Promotion Manager, invited Chinese companies and investors to consider Chile as an investment destination. As Sebastián Abud, Director of Marketing and Commercial Planning at CMPC Pulp explains: "We had the opportunity to show the business world how CMPC works, in the presence of other outstanding companies and some of our most important customers. For us it is essential to be able to wrap our entire value chain in a sustainable way, always considering our impact on the environment and the relationships with the communities with which we work".

CMPC’s Chief Representative in China, José Tomás Corthorn, adds that for the company it is very important to explore the technological alternatives that exist in China to meet its sustainability challenges. "We have ambitious targets for 2030, especially in relation to carbon emissions and water use. China is developing its technology very rapidly and in some areas is at the forefront, such as in e-mobility and smart factories. One of the roles of our office in Asia is to find innovative solutions to operational challenges, and in China we see a lot of potential to achieve this." 

The seminar was attended by large Chinese technology companies and players from the pulp and paper industry, mining, energy, information technology and port services. They were also joined by important investment groups such as FOSUN and China TianYing, and some of the most outstanding universities in China, such as Fudan and Tongji. Attendance from Chile included Codelco, Antofagasta Minerals, SQM, Arauco and Survalles.