China-Brazil trade, investment projects sail to brighter future

BEIJING — After a voyage of more than a month from Santos Port, Brazil, a cargo ship loaded with 68,000 metric tons of Brazilian corn arrived on Jan 7 at a port in South China's Guangdong province, marking the first batch of Brazilian corn imported in bulk into China.

Other Brazilian agricultural products like soybeans, chicken and sugar previously entered China and gained popularity among the country's consumers. Brazilian beef and coffee attracted many visitors to the fifth China International Import Expo last year.

China has been Brazil's biggest trade partner for 14 consecutive years and Brazil is the first Latin American country to hit a trading volume of over $100 billion with China.

In 2022, the trade volume between the two countries stood at $171.35 billion. China imported 54.4 million tons of soybeans and 1.11 million tons of frozen beef from Brazil, taking up 59.72 percent and 41 percent of their total import amount, respectively, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs.

China and Brazil are highly complementary in economic cooperation. Chinese demand for Brazilian staple products is increasing, said Wang Cheng'an, a senior expert on Portuguese-speaking countries at the University of International Business and Economics.

Agricultural products, minerals and petroleum have been pillars in the economic and trade cooperation between China and Brazil, said Zhou Zhiwei, executive director of the Center for Brazilian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

On Feb 7, the People's Bank of China signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Central Bank of Brazil to establish renminbi clearing arrangements in Brazil.

The move will improve bilateral trade efficiency and defuse external risks to provide an effective safeguard mechanism for trade between the two countries, Zhou said.

Meanwhile, infrastructure investment from China and projects for the public good have benefited Brazilians.

State Grid Corp of China, a leading State-owned utility company, has invested in the Belo Monte power transmission projects, including two 800-kilowatt ultrahigh-voltage lines transmitting electricity from the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in Para, a northern Brazilian state, to big cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, while not harming the local environment.

The company has also helped build a water desalination project in the city of Joao Camara in Rio Grande do Norte, providing 80 tons of purified water daily for local people who previously suffered from brackish water.

China and Brazil are also exploring more fields for cooperation, like science and technology innovation.

At the fifth CIIE, Brazil set up an exhibition zone for sci-tech innovation with 19 Brazilian enterprises in new energy vehicles, smart agriculture and carbon emissions reduction.

Luan Henrique, CEO of Geospace, a Brazilian company using drones for better resource management, said the Chinese market has many industry leaders and communicating with them helps his company enhance its competitiveness and expand its business in Brazil.

China's remarkable progress in green and smart emerging industries and cutting-edge technologies in recent years generate opportunities for the two countries as well as massive potential for deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Zhou said.

Wang believes that the industrialization of advanced technologies will provide a broader space for trade between China and Brazil, and the pragmatic bilateral cooperation for mutual benefits will be a model for developing countries.

Xinhua