Chilean President Gabriel Boric arrived in Beijing on Monday evening for the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum, which is set to open on Tuesday.
Chile established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1970. It was the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and also the first Latin American country to sign a bilateral agreement with the country on China's accession to the World Trade Organization and the first to recognize China's full market economy status.
Last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Boric on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima.
Speaking at that meeting, Xi noted that China is ready to work with Chile to take the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to strengthen strategic communication, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, share development opportunities, and promote new and greater development in the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides.
Also speaking at that meeting, Boric expressed Chile's welcome for more Chinese enterprises to carry out cooperation with Chile in areas such as production capacity and infrastructure, and Chile's willingness to provide a favorable business environment for Chinese companies. Chile looks forward to close communication with China within multilateral frameworks, jointly opposing protectionism, and safeguarding global free trade as well as safe and smooth industrial and supply chains, he said.
Chilean president arrives in Beijing for 4th ministerial meeting of China-CELAC Forum
Three companies in northeast China's Jilin Province offer real examples of China's new industrial transformation strategy by pushing more small and medium-sized enterprises to become " little giants" that engage in manufacturing, specializing in a niche market, and boasting cutting-edge technologies.
The three companies - Haoyue Group, a beef farmer; Anrate, a human albumin producer; Changyou Food, a pancake maker -- share their common streak of persistence in their core competence, innovation, and embracing new technologies.
China has incubated 12,000 such "little giants" and plans to cultivate 10,000 such "little giants" during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).
Inside Haoyue Group's cattle breeding facility in Changchun City, the clean barns, soothing classical music, and even massage machines create a scene more like a smart factory than a ranch. The company is famous for its flagship breed, Woking Wagyu.
"We spent more than 30 years developing Woking Wagyu, a high-end beef breed that rivals Japanese Wagyu. Today, each head of cattle generates over 20,000 U.S. dollars in value, making one cow worth more than a car," said Wang Weize, marketing director of Haoyue Group.
With its premium breeds and scientific farming, Haoyue beef is certified in 27 countries, positioning it among China's largest beef exporters.
In Tonghua City, another "little giant" is tackling biotech's hardest challenge: producing human albumin without human blood.
Traditionally derived from human plasma, albumin faces global shortages and safety risks. Anrate's breakthrough not only closes that gap but also pushes precision biotech into international markets.
"We use yeast expression systems to produce high-purity albumin. It's safer, scalable, and cost-effective. In 2024, we became the world's first company to receive market approval for recombinant albumin, starting with Russia," said Yang Tao, executive vice president of Anrate.
Meanwhile, in Dunhua City, innovation takes a tastier turn. Changyou Food is flipping the script on a beloved Chinese street snack, pancakes.
With pharmaceutical-grade production lines and strict fermentation protocols, these pancakes are being exported to 16 countries.
"After our brand became well-known, some wanted to use our trademark for desserts and pastries. But we said no. We're dedicated to making pancakes. I wanted to break the stereotype that pancakes are unsophisticated, and make a healthy food people actually feel proud to eat," said Chen Changyou, founder of Changyou Food.
According to a recent circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China will scale up support for "little giants" during 2024-2026, focusing on key industrial chains, strategic emerging industries, and other sectors.
Special funds will be used to encourage these firms to tackle technological challenges, develop new products, build up the supporting capacities of the industrial chain, and support local governments in nurturing "little giants".
Three "little giant" firms in Jilin exemplify China's industrial upgrade strategy
