BEIJING – THE relationship between China and Brazil will be unbreakable, for both sides need each other; and as long as the two countries join hands, the Global South will gain unprecedented respect in the world, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said at China-Brazil Business Forum in Beijing on Monday, noting that the potential of the China-Brazil relationship is limitless.
Lula is on a state visit to China from May 10 to 14. This is Lula’s sixth visit to China, and his second since 2023. During his visit, President Lula will attend the opening ceremony of the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum.
Media analysis suggests that against the backdrop of a significant rise in global economic instability triggered by tariff threats, Lula’s visit to China not only marks a further advancement of China-Brazil relations but also holds the promise of alleviating the concerns of global investors.
Hundreds of Chinese and Brazilian business people and several Brazilian ministers attended the China-Brazil Business Forum on Monday, the Global Times learned. Lula said his visit to China with a large delegation composed of ministers, governors, parliamentarians and entrepreneurs aims to demonstrate Brazil’s commitment to jointly building a China-Brazil community with a shared future for a more just world and a more sustainable planet together with China.
Lula emphasized in his speech the prospects for cooperation between China and Brazil in such fields as new energy and infrastructure. He also stated that Brazil should enhance the added value of its industries and shake off its dependence on exports of primary commodities and raw materials. In this regard, Brazil can learn from China’s experience, increase investment in education, and cultivate more engineers, mathematicians and artificial intelligence experts.
Chinese people can study at Brazilian universities, and more Brazilians can also come to China to study, said the Brazilian president, noting that everyone says Chinese is difficult to learn, but what’s truly difficult is building something like the Great Wall just as the Chinese people did.
The relationship between China and Brazil is not only based on practical cooperation but also on the shared vision of getting rid of poverty, said Lula. “I want to tell Chinese entrepreneurs that our relationship is not ordinary. It is between two countries that have a commitment to solving the problem of poverty that has plagued our lives for a long time.”
He said China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty, and Brazil has lifted 54 million people out of poverty. The two sides will continue to cooperate in the field of poverty reduction.
In his speech, Lula also stated that it is multilateralism that has ensured years of harmony among countries after World War II, and protectionism may lead to war.
Jorge Viana, CEO of Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, told the Global Times that Brazil and China are both committed to promoting multilateralism and free trade. He introduced that at the seminar that day, Chinese companies expressed an investment intention of up to tens of billions of dollars in Brazil, which he described as a “historic moment.” Brazil welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in the country, especially to establish joint ventures locally and export jointly produced products to North America, South America, and Africa, he said.
Marcio Elias Rosa, executive secretary of the Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, told the Global Times on Monday that China has a very strategic role to play in Brazil’s development.
Chinese enterprises possess advanced technical capabilities and are able to provide high-tech solutions in multiple fields, including new energy. Against the backdrop of the global ecological transformation and the accelerated shift of the industry toward a low-carbon model, China’s technological and capital advantages are highly complementary to Brazil’s abundant natural resources and clean energy foundation. China can help Brazil achieve sustainable development, said the executive secretary.
Currently, there is a high level of coordination between Brazil and China, said Elias Rosa.
He said China and Brazil are not only business partners, but also have the potential to develop into industrial partners in the future. Both Brazil and China have always adhered to multilateralism, opposed protectionism and any form of unilateral measures. The cooperation between the two countries is not only beneficial to their mutual complementarity, but also conducive to building a more just and sustainable global economic order, Elias Rosa said.
