China and Costa Rica on Monday began their first round of talks on a bilateral free-trade treaty, which they hope to conclude in the first quarter of 2010.

The first phase “is to establish a course” for the next six rounds, he said. Costa Rica seeks to “improve the conditions of access to the Chinese market, discover new potentials and establish some rules for investment,” Fernando Ocampo, chief negotiator for Costa Rica, said before the first meeting in San José.

Seated at the negotiation table were 18 Chinese representatives and 60 Costa Ricans, who discussed market access, investment, health measures and intellectual property, among other issues.

China is Costa Rica's second-largest trade partner after the United States. This is the first time that Costa Rica has negotiated a trade pact with the Asian giant. China already has such accords in place with Chile and Peru. Costa Rica's exports to China totaled $848.2 million in 2007, compared with imports from the Asian nation valued at $763.2 million.

Seventy-four percent of Costa Rica's exports to China consist of electronic circuits, mainly made by U.S.-based multinational Intel, while it imports manufactured goods of all kinds, toys, motorcycles and cotton products.

The second of the scheduled negotiation rounds will be held in April. Costa Rica and China established diplomatic relations in June 2007, after Costa Rica broke its ties with longtime friend Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rebel Chinese province.