Beijing, Brasilia forge new South-South cooperation model

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil. Over the past five decades, the bilateral relationship has become a new model of South-South cooperation for sustainable development.

Despite the distance of 18,000 kilometers between them, China and Brazil have set many records in bilateral relations. Brazil was the first developing country to establish a strategic partnership with China and became the first country in Latin America to upgrade it to a comprehensive strategic partnership. For 15 consecutive years, China has been Brazil's largest trading partner, top export destination and main source of investment. The two sides have also strengthened collaboration within the frameworks of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS and the World Trade Organization to defend the rights and interests of emerging market economies and developing countries.

China-Brazil cooperation has seen accelerated growth, with the two countries agreeing in 2014 to build a global community of shared future. On the economic front, the Sino-Brazilian trade volume has been growing steadily, from more than $10 billion in 2004 to $100 billion in 2018, and is expected to exceed $200 billion this year. Chinese investment in Brazil, too, has grown over the years, and now accounts for about 47 percent of China's total investment in South America.

Institutionally, the two sides have inked innumerable agreements. At the start of their diplomatic relations in 1974, the two countries signed three important bilateral agreements and documents. The list of agreements has now increased to more than 120, covering fields as varied as diplomacy, trade, technology, culture and education.

The rapid growth of China-Brazil relations is based on mutual political trust and strategic communication, and the two countries respect each other's development paths. Yet trade is the cornerstone of China-Brazil economic relations. Four main factors have been contributing to the deepening of bilateral relationship.

The first is the complementary nature of China-Brazil economic and trade cooperation. China mainly exports high-tech manufactured goods to Brazil and imports primary products, raw materials, agriproducts and some manufactured goods. But despite growing steadily, bilateral trade has created a structural disequilibrium, which the two sides have made serious efforts to correct. Still, China's trade deficit with Brazil increased from $1 billion in 2001 to $63 billion in 2023, suggesting Brazil reaps rich benefits from trade with China.

The two countries have tried to improve the quality of their cooperation, too. China's investments in Brazil cover high-tech sectors, such as energy, manufacturing, communications, and large-scale infrastructure projects, including thermal power plants, ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission lines, natural gas pipelines and port dredging, which have enhanced Brazil's manufacturing capacity and improved the country's business environment. Brazil, on its part, widened the range of its export products to China from 956 HS 6-digit commodity codes in 2001 to 1,489 HS 6-digit CC in 2023.

Second, China and Brazil have extended their cooperation to fields such as technology, the green economy, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, aerospace and healthcare, with the aim of improving the well-being of the people in the two countries.

Cultural exchanges between the two sides, too, have flourished, with many cultural events being held in the two countries to expand people-to-people exchanges and improve communication. While Brazilian nationals can enjoy 72/144-hour visa-free transit at 37 Chinese ports, Brazil has extended its visa-free transit policy to Chinese official passports. And direct flights between Beijing and Sao Paulo have resumed.

Third, China-Brazil ties have transformed into a long-term development-oriented strategic cooperation. Brazil supports the internationalization of the yuan, and the countries use each other's currencies to settle bilateral trade. China supports Brazil's high-tech and energy transition, and has placed a batch of orders with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. China has also helped complete the landmark Belo Monte UHV transmission project, which helps Brazil to supply electricity to far-off, even remote, places in an environmentally-friendly manner.

And fourth, China and Brazil have been working together to boost not only mutual development but also global development. The two countries are committed to safeguarding the rights and interests of the Global South. For example, China-Brazil cooperation in bulk commodities including iron ore has helped enhance developing countries' pricing power, and the two countries' cooperation within BRICS promotes the development of a fairer, equitable and just global governance system, in which the voices of the Global South are heard.

The two countries have also been trying to help resolve global disputes and conflicts. In fact, the joint Sino-Brazilian proposal for a political resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict garnered the support of 45 countries within a week.

The four factors behind the deepening of China-Brazil cooperation can also help them achieve common development. And while China's pursuit of high-quality development and high-level opening-up and Brazil's new industrial policy have created new opportunities for both sides, their deepening mutually beneficial cooperation will usher in a new phase of progressive cooperation among the countries of the Global South and promote global governance reform.

The author is the deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Latin American Studies. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

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