China's strong economic growth allows it to play an important role in the BRICS, and its experience in development provides valuable lessons, said Marcos Caramuru de Paiva, the Brazilian ambassador to China.

China's economy grew by 6.9 percent in the first half of this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Earlier this year, the government set a target for the economy to grow at about 6.5 percent.

Caramuru, who has been living in China for 9 years, said the country has strongly encouraged entrepreneurship and is constantly searching for new developments, "either in terms of technology or in terms of improvement in the capacity of different sectors of industry".

Another aspect of China's economic development the ambassador found interesting is infrastructure investment.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is precisely the idea that through building more infrastructure and connecting countries, we can encourage, in the long run, more trade and more investment," Caramuru told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"It's a very pragmatic approach showing the way that countries could get together," he said. "But it has behind its concept the idea that 'yes, infrastructure pays off'."

He said multilateral development banks have reduced their enthusiasm for infrastructure over the past three decades but China is making "a very good point" by renewing such enthusiasm and "the general concept that only growth can help countries to reduce their levels of poverty and to improve the standard of living of the population".

Brazil is investing more in its infrastructure, and there is a chance for Chinese companies to participate, said Caramuru.

"We have a shortage of investment, and that is where China has an advanced position, like in logistics for example, or even railways and highways, and infrastructure in general, or ports," he said.

What's more, Caramuru said, China has contributed greatly to the BRICS by also "paying a lot of attention to people-to-people connections", and Brazil hopes to increase cooperation with China not only in trade and investment, but also "people-to-people interaction".

As the presiding country for the BRICS for 2017, China has held a number of meetings and events this year to enhance cultural exchange, including the BRICS Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in June and the second BRICS Film Festival in Chengdu, Sichuan province in August.

Speaking of the BRICS' role in the global economy, Caramuru suggested the BRICS reaffirm the commitment to free trade and trade integration among various countries.

He said the BRICS countries are not only improving integration among themselves, but also reaching out to other developing countries.

The fact that the BRICS' New Development Bank has set up an African regional center in Johannesburg in August shows the group's efforts to incorporate other developing countries into its initiative, which is "in the right direction", Caramuru said.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/02/2017 page2)