In 2005, Chile and China signed a free trade agreement, the first such agreement ever signed in Latin America. Since the agreement was signed, trade between China and Chile has grown exponentially. Chile is the leading Latin American country that has maintained good relations with China, starting in 1970, when Chile was the first South American country to recognize the People's Republic of China (Jenkins 2009). Over the years their relationship has continued to develop through the many rounds of discussions that have taken place since the FTA was established. Examining the economic implications that the China-Chile FTA has had on the Chilean economy, it is seen that while the trade markets of both countries are benefiting from it, the Chilean market is facing more negative impacts than the Chinese economy. While both countries have strong motivations to invest with each other, China had much more to gain from entering this trading relationship. Americas". This campaign focused on “openness” or, better said, “open regionalism” in order to promote market growth and advance the diversification of its markets (China Quarterly). As a result of its new market strategy, Chile shifted its focus from trade with superpowers such as the United States and the European Union to the Asia Pacific region (Heine 2005). In 1993, Chile joined the APEC organization, making it the second Latin American country to join (Alvarez 1998). Joining this agreement allowed Chile to further exploit Asian markets and gave Chile the opportunity to be exposed to many more trading partners. It also further projected their trade… in the middle of the paper… of Latin America, both countries predicted that they would benefit greatly from this trade agreement. The widespread view that the Chile-China free trade agreement could stimulate all sectors of investment and trade within both countries has partly succeeded, but has also proven to have failed slightly. Although trade between the two countries is booming, Chile is increasingly feeling the pressure of competition on the Chinese market and both countries have also lost ground in promoting foreign direct investment. Since Chile's main exports include natural resources, China has more durable market power simply due to the fact that its main export industry is non-perishable. This raises the question of how much the Chile-China Free Trade Agreement will be affected in the future if Chile does not invest in new materials for the export market.