In April, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva embarked on a state visit to China—Brazil’s largest trading partner—with a delegation of businessmen, governors, federal representatives, senators, and ministers.
“In his last interview before departing, given to the program A Voz do Brasil, Lula emphasized the aim of the trip: to reinvigorate relations with China, which had cooled in recent years.”
“During this trip we aim to consolidate our relationship with China. I am going to invite [President] Xi Jinping to come to Brazil, to get to know Brazil in a bilateral meeting, to show him our projects. What we want is to build a partnership with the Chinese people, foster cooperation with them, so that they can invest in new initiatives such as highways, railroads, hydroelectric plants,” he stated.
Chinese imports of Brazilian products, particularly soy and minerals, exceeded $89.7 billion in 2022, while Chinese exports to Brazil reached almost $60.7 billion. Since Lula’s first visit to the country in 2004, the total traded volume has increased 21 times and reached a value of $150.4 billion.
What does the two biggest developing countries’ cooperation look like over past decades in trade, infrastructure, space technology and culture? Here’s a look at the ties.
Diplomacy
• Nearly five decades of relationship since its establishment in 1974.
• Brazil was the first developing country to stablish a strategic partnership with China in 1993.
• Brazil was the first Latin American country to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with China in 2012.
Trade
• China has been Brazil’s largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years.
• Brazil é China’s largest investment destination in Latin America.
• Bilateral trade has exceeded US$100 billion for five consecutive years.
• The bilateral trade volume grew 4.9% from 2021 to 2022 to US$171 billion.
Finance
• The two countries swapped local currency worth 190 billion yuan to 60 billion reais.
• They launched a joint investment promotion fund with a initial sum of US$20 billion in 2017.
• They signed a memorandum of cooperation on stablishing renmimbi clearing arrangements in Brazil in February 2023
Infrastructure
• The partnership has driven the development of Brazil’s infrastructure.
• Projects include the ultra-high-voltage-system to transport energy from the Belo Monte Dam to Brazil’s Southeast.
• The São Luis Port and the LBD wind power expansion.
Aerospace
• They began cooperating on space research in 1988.
• In 1999, the first China-Brazil Earth resource satellite was launched.
• The satellite has provided more than 6 million images, widely used in agriculture, forestry, and water conservation
Culture
• 11 confucious institutes.
• 3 confucious classes in Brazil.
• Both countries have each other’s language proficiency exam centers.
• There have been 7 culture exchange plans signed between the two countries since 1985.
Source: China Daily and Agência Brasil