No Chinese were injured in disaster, embassy says

There have been no reports of Chinese casualties in Chile following the 8.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the country on Tuesday, the Chinese embassy in Chile confirmed on Wednesday.

Iquique is home to a consulate-general of China, and the northern coastal town is only 99 km away from the epicenter of the earthquake.

After the quake, the Chinese embassy and the consulate-general in Iquique activated contingency response mechanisms and contacted Chinese national groups, branches of Chinese businesses and volunteer Mandarin teachers based in Iquique and other major coastal cities.

Chinese citizens in the costal areas affected by the earthquake have been evacuated to higher ground, said Zhang Run, a political counselor from the embassy.

"Altogether, there are nearly 1,300 Chinese nationals based in the northern areas, and national groups and Chinese companies told us there were no casualties," Zhang said in a telephone interview with China Central Television.

The embassy sent out alerts to Chinese national groups and businesses via mobile phones and WeChat about a possible tsunami following the earthquake, Zhang said.

There are an estimated 20,000 Chinese citizens in Chile, with most are from Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces.

The first Chinese nationals to settle in the country moved there around 200 years ago, and their numbers have grown rapidly since 2000.

According to Zou Jianbing, president of the Chile-Zhejiang Business Chamber, around half of the Chinese in Chile are based in Santiago, which is located nearly 2,000 km away from the quake’s epicenter.

Chile is one of China’s three top trading partners in Latin America, and China is now Chile’s largest trading partner and export destination. The two-way trade accounts for one-fifth of Chile’s foreign trade and one-eighth of the nation’s GDP, said Chinese Ambassador to Chile Yang Wanming.

"All the Chinese nationals based in the capital are in good condition, and their daily accommodations are now being taken care of by the government," Zou told CCTV.