If Mario Ignacio Artaza sounds like a motivational speaker, it's probably because he's anxious to promote an attractive commodity: the country of Chile.

 

As the trade representative of Chile in Beijing, Artaza says he's always looking for ways to improve economic ties between China and the South American nation. But six months ago, his office launched a new outreach effort in China that he hopes will change the way young Chinese view Chile.

 

Artaza and his staff have been visiting university campuses across Beijing to encourage talented students to explore Chile as a viable alternative location to pursue an advanced degree, do research or launch a business.

 

"That's what we aim for them to do," he says. "If and when they have the qualifications to do so, we are more than eager to support them."

 

Artaza says economics, business administration, international relations and languages are some of the fields which Chinese students may find attractive in Chile. And in addition to the visually stimulating environment made up of the ocean, forest, lakes and mountains, Artaza said Chileans are friendly and open to foreigners.

 

In selling Chile as an ambitious and fast developing country, he realizes that he's up against the ingrained belief among young Chinese that good opportunities exist only in developed countries like the United States, Britain or other "Anglo-Saxon" nations. He wants to change that view.

 

"It's a tangible alternative for those students who think that they can do more than simply stay at home and dream about going to a developed country," Artaza said. "Chile is a country where there's still ample room for young people to make a difference."

 

Artaza, 43, was born in Chile but was raised in the United States because his father was a traveling diplomat.

 

After nine years as a newspaper reporter covering everything from the first Gulf war to the 1984 Olympics, he felt it was a natural transition to join the Chilean Foreign Service. Years before he arrived in Beijing, Artaza served in Chile's embassy in Singapore where he was Chile's director at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat.

 

"Chile is a Pacific Rim country, we're a partner of China in APEC and we have been linked commercially with China since the early 1820s," he says.

 

In 2007, bilateral trade between the China and Chile is expected to reach $10 billion, Artaza said, an increase from last year's $8 billion. The top products imported by China include iron, copper, iodine, wood pulp and fruits.

 

Artaza said his office intends to continue reaching out to students across China in cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing to explain the opportunities in Chile.

 

Artaza is married and has an 8-year-old daughter, Xaviera.

 

(China Daily July 13, 2007)