ExportRim connected with Ignacio Tornero, who is the founder and CEO at East Consulting. A trained lawyer who resided in China for several years, Ignacio is now based in Santiago, Chile.

Despite only launching in 2021, East Consulting is quickly gaining a strong reputation. He and his colleagues at East Consulting advise Latin American companies to manage legal and commercial issues arising from doing business in China. Furthermore, a number of top Chinese companies also are clients of East Consulting and seek professional advice to conduct commercial activities in Chile and Latin America.

Interview Questions

What is the main objective of East Consulting? How has East Consulting helped clients to resolve legal and commercial issues in Asia and in Chile?

East Consulting is a business & legal advisory firm that serves as a bridge between China and Latin America. We offer comprehensive assistance to both Chinese companies that invest in Latin America and to Latin American enterprises that do business in and trade with China. Our team is composed of people with diverse professional backgrounds, with them based in Santiago, Beijing and Taipei.

Even though currently we are China-LATAM focused, with the dynamics that are developing, we foresee our service coverage expanding to other strategic markets in Asia in the future.

What do your clients find that doing business in China and Asia challenging?

I think some of the biggest obstacles are geographic distance and cultural differences. It’s very challenging doing business with another part of the world that is thousands of kilometers away, and where the time difference is very big. Additionally, the cultural gap and language are usually the other big barriers; you may think that the same approach that you’ve used locally may be a successful one on the other side of the world, but that is not usually the case.

One of our jobs is to help clients understand these differences and advise them on what actions should be taken. Dealing with disputes, especially trade-related, is also quite typical.

What are the products that your clients, or LATAM companies in general, are exporting more and more to China? And how about from China to LATAM?

The typical products we see Latin American countries exporting to Asia are mining, agricultural, forestry, livestock, fisheries products, and wine. Some of these products enjoy preferable tariffs, so the local retail price become quite competitive.

From China, we usually import LATAM machinery, technological equipment, and apparel.

From operations to tax to human resources and so forth, what are the first thing that comes to your mind when trading with Chinese counterparts?

The benefits from free trade agreements and treaties for the avoidance of double taxation in force with certain countries are probably the most critical legal frameworks available for making exports, imports and investments more competitive. In the case of Chile, the FTA and double taxation agreement in force with China have been a big competitive advantage in the trade of goods and services in comparison to other countries that lack those agreements.

You spent time in Shanghai and other cities in China. How has that experience helped you now, both in business and personally?

Having had the chance to be based in China for years (Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing) gave me and our firm the advantage to have first-hand access to those local markets. This goes from being able to learn the language, the local culture, business etiquette, main stakeholders in our industry, etc. Things in China evolve at a pace that you do not usually experience in other parts of the world, so by having a local presence you are “up to date” regularly. Our clients and business partners also attach great importance to the fact that we have made a big effort to be closer to them, and that we spent a considerable amount of time learning the local culture.

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