President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed, this Friday (14th), in Beijing, 15 trade and partnership agreements. Lula was received at the Great Hall of the People, seat of the Chinese government.
The leaders participated in an expanded meeting with ministers and advisors from both countries and had a private meeting. In this conversation, in addition to bilateral issues, they discussed dialogue and negotiation to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A dinner in honor of Lula was also hosted by Xi Jinping.
The terms signed between the two countries include space cooperation agreements, research and innovation, digital economy and fight against hunger, exchange of communication content between the two countries and trade facilitation.
One of the agreements foresees the development of CBERS-6, the sixth of a line of satellites built in the bilateral partnership. According to the Brazilian government, the differential of the new model is a technology that allows the monitoring of biomes such as the Amazon Forest, even with clouds.
Certification
Other signed documents deal with electronic certification for products of animal origin and the sanitary and quarantine requirements that must be followed by slaughterhouses to export meat from Brazil to China. Brazil is the biggest supplier of beef to the Asian country and 60% of Brazilian production is sold to China.
In the context of the Brazilian president’s visit, the business sector also announced 20 new agreements between the two countries in areas such as renewable energies, automotive industry, agribusiness, green credit lines, information technology, health and infrastructure.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these agreements are in addition to those announced during the Brazil-China Economic Seminar, held on March 29, totaling more than 40 new partnerships. Lula was supposed to make that trip at the end of last month, on the occasion of the seminar, but a case of pneumonia forced him to postpone the appointment.
“In the tourism sector, the inclusion of Brazil in the list of authorized destinations for travel by groups of Chinese tourists stands out, which represents a great opportunity for the growth of the flow of visitors between the two countries”, highlighted the Itamaraty.
Before signing the acts, Lula and the Brazilian entourage participated in a flower laying ceremony at the Monument to the Heroes of the People, in Tiananmen Square.
Other encounters
Earlier, also at the Great Hall of the People, Lula had a meeting with the president of the National People’s Congress of China, Zhao Leji. According to the Presidency of the Republic, they dealt with the strategic partnership between Brazil and China, the expansion of trade flows between the countries and the balance of world geopolitics.
“Lula pointed out that Brazil was the first country to recognize China as a market economy. He reinforced that China was an essential partner for the creation of the Brics [bloc formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] and that the bilateral relationship between the nations has the potential to consolidate a new south-south relationship within the scope global,” reported the Planalto Palace.
The two leaders also highlighted the intention to expand investments and strengthen cooperation in sectors such as education and space.
The first commitment of the day for Lula and members of the entourage was the meeting with the president of State Grid, Zhang Zhigang. The company is a leader in the electricity sector in China and has investments in Brazil, with 19 concessionaires and transmission lines in 14 states.
According to Planalto, Lula reinforced the importance of Chinese investments in Brazil, confidence in the national economy and the federal government’s focus on investments in renewable energy and expansion of the transmission network, integrating wind and solar generation projects with the conventional grid.
China has been Brazil’s main trading partner since 2009. The volume traded between the two countries in 2022 was US$ 150.4 billion. The year 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of trade relations between Brazil and China. The first sale between the two countries took place in 1973, a year before the establishment of Sino-Brazilian diplomatic relations.
This trip is Lula’s fourth international visit after taking office in this third term. The president has already been to Argentina, Uruguay and the United States. He also received, in Brasilia, the Prime Minister of Germany, Olaf Scholz, at the end of January.
Yesterday (13), Lula carried out an agenda in Shanghai, where he participated in the inauguration of former President Dilma Rousseff in charge of the New Development Bank, the promotion bank of the Brics, had a meeting with businessmen and visited the company’s research and development center of Huawei technology.
President Lula’s entourage leaves China tomorrow (15). Upon returning to Brazil, the presidential plane will land in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, for an official visit.
Find the joint communique released by the two presidents here in English.
With information from Agência Brasil.