Chile, in recent years, has been very successful in attracting large amounts of Chinese investment in the country’s copper and lithium mining sectors, agriculture, and more. So, successful in fact that it’s sparked growing concern among lawmakers about the risks of Chinese ownership of key strategic sectors including electric power and telecommunications.
But a bipartisan bill that seeks to regulate foreign ownership of critical industries that’s now in the legislature prompted what many see as retaliation from Beijing when Chile’s billion-dollar cherry exports to China were halted at the height of the season.
