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Chile Hitches Ride on China Coattails as Copper Addiction Eases
The Asian powerhouse is gobbling up Chilean fruit, salmon and wine
The busy docks of Valparaiso, Chile.
Photographer: Loop Images/Universal Images Group Editorial/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Just as Chile’s reliance on copper begins to wane, the South American country is developing a new fix. This time on a country.
Exports to China, excluding copper, jumped 148 percent to $4.3 billion in 2016 from 2008, driven by shipments of fruit, wine, salmon and forestry products. Non-copper exports to the rest of the world slid 9.1 percent to $28.2 billion over the same period. The surge in shipments to China helped the economy maintain growth, even as a slump in prices undermined copper exports.