Presidenta Chinchilla in Beijing for Second Stage of Visit

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla arrived in Beijng on today to continue her official visit to China where she is expected to participate in a business forum on Wednesday and hold talks with President Hu Jintao on Thursday.

Chinchilla completed the first period of her program in Shanghai, where she was welcomed by Mayor Han Zheng and made a call for increased economic ties. In that city, she also met with executives from local companies.

During the day, she visited an industrial park in Suzhou, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, where she held talks with local executives.

Her agenda in Beijing includes attendance at the ceremony to sign cooperation agreements, after an official welcome and talks with President Hu Jintao.

On Friday, she will meet with PM Wen Jiabao, the top leader of the Parliament, Wu Bangguo and Vice President Xi Jinping.

The final stage of her stay in China, which started last Sunday will be in Xi'An, the capital of Shaanxi province, from where she will travel to South Korea, the other stop on her tour.

Since June 1, 2007, Costa Rica became the first Central American country to have diplomatic relations with China. These links include a visit by former president Oscar Arias on October, 2007, reciprocated by one from Hu Jintao on November 2008, followed by the signing of a free trade agreement on April, 2010 effective since August 1 last year.