Brazil and China: a long-standing friendship

In the early 19th century, the German painter Rugendas traveled throughout Brazil and made hundreds of watercolors depicting scenes of Brazilian daily life. One of these works shows a group of Chinese men wearing conical hats and planting tea in the Botanical Gardens in Rio de Janeiro.

They were part of a first wave of Chinese immigrants from Hubei province that arrived in Brazil between 1812 and 1814.

Brazil and China today are different countries but the memory of our past shows that we have a long-standing friendly relationship on which to base our future partnership.

Contemporary Brazil is a vibrant, multiethnic democracy. The country is now in the mid of an electoral campaign in preparation for very important elections early next month.

The social policies implemented in Brazil have promoted a better income distribution benefiting millions of poverty-stricken people and allowing them to enjoy a more rewarding life and to fully share in the benefits of our political democracy.

With a population of 192 million, a per capita income of approximately $10,000 and a rapidly expanding middle class, Brazil is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Domestic consumption is the driving force of the Brazilian economy.

The Brazilian economy is well-balanced, combining a modern and highly-productive agricultural sector, a diversified and technologically advanced industrial sector and an up to date services sector where millions share the benefits of the Internet.

We are now implementing a new generation of large-scale infrastructure projects.

Construction is moving ahead in preparation for the 2014 football world cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. The beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro, a sister city of Beijing, will host the Olympic games. We hope to learn from the successful Chinese experience in hosting in Beijing the 2008 Olympics.

Brazil is now at the vanguard of world growth and this performance should lead the country to become one of the world's five largest economies.

This year the economy will expand by 7 percent and we should achieve similar and sustainable rates of growth in the following years. But in spite of our achievements Brazil remains a developing country with many challenges ahead. Under the leadership of President Lula Brazil's profile on the international scene has changed and is now more assertive. We share the perception that the world is changing fast becoming more multipolar.

We also feel that we are in need of new multilateral rules and institutions for this changing world. Brazil's foreign policy conducted by Minister Celso Amorim has consistently advocated, with courage and creativity, the need for a more balanced world.

In this context, the reform of the United Nations Security Council is of primary importance. Other crucial issues like climate change and environment protection, food and energy security, trade and development, financial stability and the maintenance of international peace and security cannot be properly addressed without the participation of developing countries.

Brazil welcomes the emergence of a new set of fora like BASIC, BRIC, IBSA and the G20 at the World Trade Organization that reflect this growing importance of developing countries. The G20 economic forum, now accepted as the premier forum for economic coordination, is a symbol of the changes that are taking place.

I would like now to focus on China. A developing country like Brazil, China is now a central actor in the world scene and is playing a major role in helping the world gain economic momentum and sustain growth. China's growth is important for Brazil, too.

Brazil was the first developing country to establish a Strategic Partnership with China, in 1993. Since then this partnership has grown beyond our initial expectations reflecting internal changes in both countries and their growing international importance.

Recognizing these changes Presidents Lula and Hu Jintao signed last April in Braslia a Joint Plan of Action 2010-2014 to strengthen the institutional framework of the Sino-Brazilian political dialogue and to set a series of realistic goals to be achieved in all areas of our cooperation. It reflects the recognition that the pace and dimension of the changes taking place in our bilateral relations required a new approach.

With China becoming the first trading partner of Brazil and with Chinese investment increasing at a fast pace it is of paramount importance to maintain permanent channels of dialogue between Governments and business interests, to address issues, anticipate problems and look for balanced solutions based on a clear shared perception of the future of our bilateral relationship, taking into account the interests and concerns of both sides and promoting win-win solutions. The implementation of the Joint Action Plan, to which both countries are committed, is a major step in that direction.

Today we are celebrating the Brazilian National Day, and the Brazilian people have good reasons to be proud of the past and confident about the future.

We also feel honored with the friendship of the Chinese people. Thousands of Chinese tourists, students and businessmen visit Brazil every year. Brazilians are also coming in growing numbers to China to visit, to study and to do business.

I am sure that in the next years we will witness further progress in the development of the close and friendly relations between our countries and peoples.

The author is Brazilian ambassador to China.

(China Daily 09/07/2010 page12)