Xi, Lula laud 50 years of bilateral ties

President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva exchanged congratulations on Thursday on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, pledging to jointly build a China-Brazil community with a shared future and contribute to world peace and development.

China is willing to use the 50th anniversary as a new starting point to continue enhancing the alignment of development strategies with Brazil, and deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields, Xi said in his congratulatory message.

As China and Brazil are both major developing countries and important emerging markets, they are like-minded friends and partners moving forward together, Xi noted.

He said that the steady growth of the bilateral ties and their increasing global influence have promoted the development and revitalization of the two nations, which has also contributed to world peace, stability and prosperity.

Recalling Lula's successful trip to China last year, Xi said the two sides had reached a significant consensus on piloting and opening a new future for China-Brazil relations in the new era.

Lula said in his message that Brazil-China ties are increasingly important for building a multipolar order and achieving more just and effective global governance.

Such a relationship provides support for the stability of both countries as well as the world, he said.

Lula also said that for the next 50 years of the bilateral relations, the two countries will chart a new course together and create a bright shared future.

In a signed article published in China Daily on Thursday, Lula noted new areas of cooperation, such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and renewable energy sources.

He said that "throughout these 50 years, we have built a strategic partnership that strengthened our peoples' commercial, cultural, scientific and technological ties".

As Brazil is scheduled to host the G20 Summit in November and will assume the rotating BRICS presidency in 2025, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told People's Daily that the country hopes to use the opportunities to usher in a new round of high-level exchanges with China.

Brazil is the first developing country to establish a strategic partnership with China and the first Latin American country to elevate its bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Since 2009, China has been Brazil's largest trading partner and one of its major sources of foreign investment, while Brazil is China's largest trading partner in Latin America.

China's cumulative investment in Brazil has exceeded $70 billion, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the country's investment in South America.

Zhou Zhiwei, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Latin American Studies, said that China and Brazil have no geopolitical conflicts, enjoy high economic complementarity, and share similar positions on major international and regional issues.

This is the most precious strategic asset and the most important common interest between the two countries, as well as the political foundation for deepening mutual trust and cooperation between the two sides, he said.

He noted that the highly integrated interests between the two countries have driven a significant transformation in their relationship, from a model of South-South cooperation to a major power relationship.

"Particularly through the BRICS platform, China and Brazil can cooperate more extensively with other developing countries, enhancing the voice of developing nations in international affairs and promoting the establishment of a new global political and economic order and a multipolar international structure," Zhou said.

zhoujin@chinadaily.com.cn

?