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.

Driving a car in Costa Rica is quite an adventure when you are used to disciplined drivers and well-regulated roadways. But in Costa Rica, the streets are not well labeled, especially in the capital, San José, where labeling is more necessary than in other areas of the country.

There are signs in San José, but because of the distraction of billboards on house walls and stores you can easily miss a sign that might be essential for finding your destination. Forget the concept of normal addresses with a street name and number. In Costa Rica, almost every address is given in terms of reference points.

For example, the address of a house at location X might be given as 100 meters north of the drugstore La Margarita, 30 meters east of the Church Santo Domingo in San Rafael de Heredia. It is the second house on the right, with a yellow wall, a green gateway, and two palm trees outside.

This would be an easy address because the reference points still exist, but some addresses use former reference points that today have another name. Should you have to orientate in San José, the Central Valley, or any other part of the country, my first tip is to purchase or rent a GPS system. Great GPS software does exist that includes many reference points in Costa Rica. This is the best option if you are not very skilled in Spanish and don’t want to keep stopping to ask for directions. If you do not purchase or rent a GPS system, another tip is to always drive with a relaxed co-driver, because orientation and focusing on driving at the same time are even more difficult than in a first world country.

If you get lost, take notice of buses that cross your way on other roadways. Buses almost always have a small sign on the window specifying where they came from and where they are going. Another guide is the blue sign above public phone booths. This sign almost always indicates the name of even the smallest town.

As you get closer to your final destination you will have to ask for a reference point. Always ask at least three local people where you can find this point. People prefer to tell you anything than to admit that they cannot give exact directions. By asking at least three people you get better quality information.

When you have to park the car, it is recommended that you park it in a place where someone can keep an eye on it. In San José, the Central Valley, and some towns in coastal areas, people wearing orange vests make their living by looking after parked vehicles. If they do not give you a small paper with a fixed hourly rate, you can give them 200 to 300 colones per hour. If you get to a hotel or a hostel with your car, make sure that the parking lot is guarded and the gates are locked overnight. Never leave your belongings in the car, but if you must leave them for some reason, always hide them. Why do I tell you about all these security measures? Costa Rica is beautiful, but it is still a newly industrializing country, and people in some areas earn less per month than you pay to fill your car with gas.

Since December 2008 new traffic laws have gone into effect that force drivers to be more responsible. Crimes like drunken driving, running a red light, and exceeding a speed limit are now strictly punished.

If you have never been to Costa Rica or another Central American country, you may be quite surprised at how local banks outside of a first world country operate. Banks in Cost Rica often behave as if they are doing the customer a favor in serving him and not vice versa. Despite the fact that private banks often have a modern physical appearance both outside and inside, there is no significant exception from this behavior. You may consider visiting a bank in Costa Rica more like visiting a government agency. With this concept in mind, you should get along quite well with any bank.

Almost every branch is divided into two areas: the cash point and the service area. For the cash point you need to wait in line. For the service area you need to take a number in order to get assistance. In order to avoid a long wait time, I recommend visiting at off-peak times and with a Plan B in place. Go to the bank right after opening or after lunch time, but before quitting time. Always take a book, your notebook, and a Plan B with you if you cannot avoid a wait, despite the fact that you are there at a less busy time. By acting on your Plan B you can take a number, take a chance on not getting back to the branch in time, and do something else nearby in the meantime.

There are two exceptions where visiting the bank during off-peak hours in order to avoid a long wait may not work out. Never ever consider visiting a bank with the goal of a short waiting time during first weeks of December, when people get usually their Christmas bonus, or on the 15th or 30th of every month, when people get usually paid. During these times, banks tend to be overcrowded regardless of the time of day.

There are several differences between the public banks and the public banks. Public banks have a disadvantage in that they can’t offer you good interest rates on your deposited money. The advantage, however, is that your money will be a lot more secure in a public bank than in a private bank. For both public banks, “Banco de Costa Rica” and “Banco Nacional,” the government is the warrantor.

In every international money transfer with an amount over $ 10,000, the SUGEF (“Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras”), the controlling institution for all financial entities, needs to be informed by the bank that performs the transaction. Due to the fact that public banks are mainly governmental and the fact that the controlling institution is also governmental, communication between these entities is far better than between private banks and SUGEF. This does sound like public banks have a lot of controlling processes, but the positive side is that you can open a bank account with a public bank much easier than with a private bank.

At this time private banks need to earn their trust with SUGEF, as several of them had accounts in the past with customers who tried to engage in money-laundering. Because of what happened in the past, SUGEF tightened the requirements for private bank customers to open a bank account. If you think about opening an account with a private bank but on behalf of a Costa Rican corporation, you need to organize almost double the paperwork than you would for a public bank. As a private person you need to have Costa Rican residency even to open an account. This requirement doesn’t exist with public banks. So when thinking of moving to Costa Rica it is recommendable and less stressful to open, as a first step, a bank account in a public bank. After you get your Costa Rican residency, and when you are interested in having higher interest rates, you may open an account with a private bank.

When dealing with real estate in Costa Rica it is very likely that you get in touch with properties under agricultural use. This kind of property is registered as agricultural land (“uso agricola”) in the public registry (“Registro Publico”). This type of property is almost always far cheaper than building land. The overall question is, if it is possible to build on such a type of property.

The owners will surely tell you that this will be always possible; other people will tell you that it is never possible. If you do your homework and research on some important points, there could be a great investing opportunity in agricultural land. It is very important to proof a property with agricultural use before a buying decision. Properties which have this kind of use, usually measure more than 5000 square meters and normally do not have public services like electricity, water, drainage and phone lines on site.

Due to a great value adding it is recommendable that you try to convert agricultural use in building use. The most important condition for this value adding conversion of use is an adjoining public road (“calle publica”). This is essential for acquiring water supply by the municipality or water by the public institution AyA (Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados), electricity and phone lines from the monopolist I.C.E. (Instituto Costaricense de Electricidad). Due to a public road the garbage removal service from the municipality can reach the property. If there is no public road adjoining, the new owner has to provide water supply (water pipes, well, etc.) and the connection to public electricity. That is why further costs for drilling, electrical towers, transformer, canalization, etc. arise.

If there is an adjoining public road and if you need a building permit, as first step you may apply for public services and as second step converting agricultural land in building land. There is also a building possibility if the agricultural land is far away from an adjoining public road. If it adjoins only to a private road, but the costs for water installation and electricity are out of all proportion, you may still build on the land, but only if the property has a spring. If the property has a well, but has a lot of aquiferous levels close by, it is almost impossible to get a building permit. Without these constraints, it is possible to get a building permit. There will be only constraints for the coverage of a certain proportion of the total land area. By this approach you may receive a building permit, but will not have the option for a change of use in the future. We as agency (Tierralinda Real Estate) always recommend proofing a property with agricultural use of an onsite spring or even better for value adding of an adjoining public road.