Chile's Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker said here Thursday Chile is planning to promote trade with China, especially in the mining sector.

The move is in accordance with Chile's Plan Asia, worked out by outgoing President Ricardo Lagos in the last year of his tenure. He will be succeeded by Michelle Bachelet on March 11.

Chile regards Asia as a region of huge market potential in the future as it already represents 28.2 percent of the country's external trade and consumes 35.2 percent of its exports, Walker told a press conference.

China, Japan and South Korea consume 81 percent of Chile's exports to Asia, which are worth 13.8 billion U.S. dollars in total.

Bilateral trade between Chile and China is growing by 50 percent each year, Walker said, adding that China became Chile's third largest export market in 2005.

The two countries signed a free trade deal last November. Copper is Chile's main export to China.

Chile is also seeking a free trade pact with Japan and hopes a deal could be signed this year, said Walker.

The first round of talks with Japan will be held on Feb. 23-24 in Tokyo with a wide-open agenda.

Source: Xinhua