Chinese President Hu Jintao left here Monday for Cuba, following his first state visit to Chile and the conclusion of the annual Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Hu began the visit to Chile last Thursday. During the visit, China and Chile decided to launch negotiations aimed at establishing a free trade area, making Chile the first South American nation to start such talks with China.

Chile formally recognized China's status as a full market economy while China put Chile on the list of its outbound tourist destinations.

China and Chile also agreed to expand trade and strengthen cooperation in the areas of agriculture, mineral resources and public health.

Chile was China's third largest trading partner among South American nations. The two-way trade volume reached 3.53 billion US dollars in 2003, up 37.6 percent from that in the previous year.