BEIJING (Reuters) -&nbsp;Chile&nbsp;has always been at the forefront of&nbsp;China's&nbsp;relations with Latin American and Caribbean countries, Chinese President&nbsp;Xi&nbsp;Jinping said on Tuesday in Beijing, when meeting with&nbsp;Chile's President Gabriel Boric.
Xi&nbsp;told the&nbsp;Chilean leader, who is in China to attend the Belt and Road Forum, that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Chile&nbsp;relations, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said.
Xi&nbsp;praised&nbsp;Chile&nbsp;for being the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with China, and for being a pioneer in cooperation on the Belt and Road initiative in Latin America.
"China-Chile&nbsp;cooperation in various fields has promoted the development and revitalization of both countries and brought substantial benefits to our people,"&nbsp;Xi&nbsp;added.
In a joint statement from both countries,&nbsp;Chile&nbsp;invited Chinese firms to participate in the development of the country's lithium mining industry and green hydrogen projects, CCTV reported.
Boric said on Monday that&nbsp;China's&nbsp;Tsingshan Holding Group will invest $233.2 million to set up a plant in&nbsp;Chile&nbsp;to produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP), used to power electric vehicles, which is expected to create 668 jobs when it reaches full capacity.
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(Reporting by Liz Lee and Ella Cao; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Sharon Singlton)

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China's Xi touts close relationship with Chile in talks