Emerging as the second largest economy of the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic has had great commercial exchanges with the People's Republic of China, the second largest economy worldwide.
 Rosa Ng Báez, representative of the commercial development office of the Dominican Republic in Beijing, spoke of the Dominican Republic's hope to strengthen relations between the Chinese and Dominican people.

Ms.Rosa Ng Báez

Main destination of Caribbean, Central American FDI

The Dominican Republic is the second largest economy in Central America and the Caribbean, with a market of 10 million people and preferential access to markets of the United States, Central and South America and Europe. It also has a privileged climate for businesses and investments, which is characterized by a modern and reliable regulatory framework and physical infrastructure developed and adjusted to the national production needs. The country has an advanced telecommunications system, which is a major competitive advantage of Dominican Republic.

World investments flocking to China
 

China has the largest market worldwide, with 1.3 billion people and a low-cost labor force. The rapid economic growth in recent years has increased the income of its citizens that has resulted in the emergence of a dynamic middle class. Experts have affirmed that China has one of the most attractive business and investment climates in the world.
 

Between 2008 and 2011, more than 1,500 Dominican enterprises have imported all kinds of goods from China, including steel material, fertilizer, spare parts, household appliances, textiles, plastic toys and computers. Five Chinese firms are running businesses in the Dominican Republic — Perilya, Huawei, ZTE, Jinchen and Yutong.
 

The total trade between the Dominican Republic and China for the years between 2008 and 2010 was 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, of which 15 percent (373.5 million U.S. dollars) came from Dominican exports, while the remaining 85 percent (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) are China's experts.
 

The Dominican Republic's trade with China last year totaled 1.5 billion dollars. The Dominican Republic hopes to increase this amount and balance bilateral trade in a way that allows Dominicans to introduce their products in China, such as coffee, rum and cigarettes.