BrazilianPresidentLuizInacioLuladaSilvaandhiswifereceiveflowerspresentedbychildrenfromtheShanghaiChildren"sPalaceoftheChinaWelfareInstituteandposeforaphotowiththemuponarrivalinShanghai,eastChina,April12,2023.

(相关资料图)

EversinceChinaandBrazilestablisheddiplomaticties49yearsago,thetwocountrieshavemaintainedclosehigh-levelexchangesandsolidpoliticalmutualtrust.

BEIJING,April16(Xinhua)--"I"vegottenajob,boughtasofaandarefrigeratorwiththemoneyIearned,plasteredtheexteriorsofmyhousewithcement,haveaccesstotheInternetathome,andlearnedhowtomakebusinesscontacts,purchaseandmarketonline.Allmydreamshavecometrue,"MarleneAraujoDiastoldXinhua.

LivinginaforestedvillageinthenorthernBrazilianstateofTocantinsnamedMalhadinha,AraujoDiasisoneofthemanylocalsfeelingtheirliveshavechangedsincethelaunchofaChinese-builtfruitprocessingplantinAugust2021.Thechange,whichAraujoDiasdescribedas"turningplainwaterintoredwine,"epitomizesclosecooperationbetweenthetwocountriesoceansaway.

ThelateststatevisitofBrazilianPresidentLuizInacioLuladaSilvatoChina,duringwhichheandChinesePresidentXiJinpingheldtalks,hasmappedoutanevenbrighterfutureforbilateralties,wherethetwobiggestdevelopingcountriesandemergingmarketsintheEasternandWesternhemispheresworktogethertodelivergreaterbenefitstothetwopeoples,andplayamoreimportantandpositiveroleforpeace,stabilityandprosperityintheirregionsandaroundtheworld.

"FRIENDSHIPISLIKEABOTTLEOFWINE"

"Friendshipislikeabottleofwine,theolder,thebetter."ThisBrazilianproverbquotedbyXiduringhisvisittoBrazilin2014wasrepeatedbyLulaonThursdaywhenhepraisedtherelationshipbetweenthetwocountriesas"extraordinary"inChina.

EversinceChinaandBrazilestablisheddiplomaticties49yearsago,thetwocountrieshavemaintainedclosehigh-levelexchangesandsolidpoliticalmutualtrust.In1993,BrazilbecamethefirstdevelopingcountrytoestablishastrategicpartnershipwithChina,andin2012thatpartnershipwasupgradedtoacomprehensivestrategicone.From2006to2022,theChina-BrazilHigh-LevelCoordinationandCooperationCommitteeheldsixmeetings,pushingforcontinuousfruitsinall-roundbilateralpracticalcooperation.

Agriculturalproducts,mineralsandpetroleumhavebeenpillarsintheeconomiccooperationbetweenChinaandBrazil.InvestmentfromChinaininfrastructureandprojectsforthepublicgoodhasbenefitedBrazilians.Moreover,theopeningofanewcargoairroutelinkingthesouthernChinesemetropolisShenzhentoSaoPaulo,Brazil"slargestcity,earlierinAprilisexpectedtofurtherstimulatee-commercetradebetweenthetwocountries.

High-levelinteractionshavebecomemorefrequentinrecentyears,too.InJuly2014,XiwenttoBraziltoattendthesixthBRICSsummit,andmetwithleadersfromtheCommunityofLatinAmericanandCaribbeanStates.InNovember2019,hetravelledtoBrazilagaintoattendthe11thBRICSsummit.Lula,anoldfriendoftheChinesepeoplewhohasvisitedChinamultipletimes,choseChinaashisfirstdestinationoutsidetheAmericasaftertakingovertheBrazilianpresidencyearlythisyear.

BrazilianPresidentLuizInacioLuladaSilvavisitsanexhibitionhallonthelatestdevelopmentindigitaltechnologyanddigitaleconomyattheShanghaiResearchCenterofHuaweiinShanghai,eastChina,April13,2023.(Xinhua/GaoFeng)

StressingthatChinaalwaysseesitsrelationshipwithBrazilasahighpriorityonitsdiplomaticagenda,XisaidFridaythat"Chinawelcomesmorehigh-qualityproductsfromBrazilintoitsmarket.ChinawillactivelyexploregreatersynergybetweenitsBeltandRoadInitiativeandBrazil"sreindustrializationstrategy."

Thetwocountrieshavealsojointlyplayedanimportantroleintoday"sturbulentworld,communicatingandcoordinatingcloselywithinsuchmultilateralframeworksastheUnitedNations,theWorldTradeOrganization,BRICSandtheGroupof20.

Facingglobalchangesofamagnitudeunseeninacentury,ChinaandBrazilareresolvedtopracticetruemultilateralism,advocatethecommonvaluesofhumanity,workforamorejustandequitableinternationalgovernancesystem,trulysafeguardthecommoninterestsofdevelopingcountriesandinternationaljusticeandequity,andbuildacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind,XisaidFriday.

LulasaidBrazilstandsreadytoworkwithChinatocontributetodevelopingcountries"effortstoshakeoffunfairrulesandrealizeafairerandmorebalanceddevelopment.

"NEWRECORDINTRADE"

MooredatthePortofAcuinthecityofRiodeJaneiro,ChinesesupertankerYUANPENGYANGquietlyawaitsitsdepartureforAsiaonceitisfullyloadedwithcontainersofBraziliancrudeoil.

ViniciusPatel,directorofthePortAdministration,toldXinhuathatexportingcrudeoilandironoretoChinahasbeenoneofthecorebusinessesoftheportsinceitsoperationin2014.

"WesignednewcontractswithChinesecompanieslastyear.OurexportstoChinahavehitanewrecord,"Patelsaid.

ThebuzzoftheportisastellarexampleoftheboomingtradebetweenChinaandBrazil."WhenIfirstvisitedBeijing,fewanalystsimaginedthattheSino-Brazilianpartnershipwouldacquiretherelevanceithastoday.Sincethen,ourtradehasmultiplied16-foldandChinahasbecomeBrazil"smaintradingpartner,"LulasaidinawritteninterviewwithXinhuashortlybeforedepartingforhisstatevisittoChina.

"ThevalueofourexportstoChinaisgreaterthanthesumofourexportstotheUnitedStatesandtheEuropeanUnion,"hesaid,"ChinaisagreatenginefortheBrazilianagro-industry."

ChinahasbeenBrazil"sbiggesttradepartnerfor14consecutiveyears,andBrazilisthefirstLatinAmericancountrytohitatradingvolumeofover100billionU.S.dollarswithChina.

AcontainershipdocksatRiodeJaneiroPortinBrazil,March20,2023.(PhotobyClaudiaMartini/Xinhua)

In2022,two-waytradestoodat171.35billiondollars.Chinaimported54.4milliontonsofsoybeansand1.11milliontonsoffrozenbeeffromBrazil,takingup59.72percentand41percentoftheirtotalimportamount,respectively,showeddatafromChina"sGeneralAdministrationofCustoms.

OnFeb.7,thePeople"sBankofChinasignedamemorandumofcooperationwiththeCentralBankofBraziltoestablishRMBclearingarrangementsinBrazil,amoveexpertssaywillimprovebilateraltradeefficiencyanddefuseexternalriskstoprovideaneffectivesafeguardmechanismfortradebetweenthetwocountries.

AfterthetalksbetweenXiandLulaonFriday,thetwopresidentswitnessedthesigningofvariousbilateralcooperationdocumentsontradeandinvestment,digitaleconomy,scientificandtechnologicalinnovation,informationandcommunications,povertyreduction,quarantine,spaceandothers.

GustavoBiscassi,headofExternalAffairsofBrazil"smininggiantVale,toldXinhuathatforhiscompany,whichhasbeenexportingproductstoChinaforthelast50years,"Chinaisnotonlyourlargestmarket,butalsoacriticalsupplierforthemining,infrastructureandlogisticsequipmentandservices."

"WearelookingforwardtocontinuingourclosecooperationwithChinainthenext50years,"hesaid.

"WHENCULTURESCOMETOGETHER"

OnJan.19,redlanterns,Chinesepaper-cutsandliondancesdecoratedtheancientBraziliancityofRecife.HundredsofBraziliansgatheredatthecity"sMarcoZeroSquareonthisveryday,notonlytomarkthearrivaloftheYearoftheRabbit,butalsotocelebratetheinclusionoftheChineseNewYearintoRecife"sofficialcalendar.

"Ourhistoricalheritage,withthereceptionofthelightshowofChina,isasifthetwoculturesareunited...andtalkalittletotheworldthatbrotherhoodbetweenpeoplesispossible.Andthat,howbeautifulitiswhenculturescometogether!"saidCityCouncilorCidaPedrosa.

"Therelationshipbetweenpeoplesisextremelyimportant,becausewhatmakesacultureflowand(stay)aliveiswhenoneculturemeetsanotherculture,"shesaid.

BrazilianPresidentLuizInacioLuladaSilvaspeaksattheinaugurationceremonyofthenewpresidentoftheNewDevelopmentBank(NDB),DilmaRousseff,formerBrazilianPresident,atthebank"sheadquartersinPudong,Shanghai,eastChina,April13,2023.(Xinhua/GaoFeng)

OnSept.19,2022,RecifeokayedadecreeproposedbyPedrosatoestablishtheChineseNewYearasanofficialholidayinthecity.InearlyFebruarythisyear,thecityofFozdoIguacuinsouthernBrazilalsodecidedtomaketheChineseNewYearcelebrationanannualevent.

Culturalandpeople-to-peopleexchangesbetweenthetwocountrieshavebeenflourishingovertheyears,forexample,insports,medicineandthearts.FourteenConfuciusInstituteshavebeenestablishedinBrazil,themostamongLatinAmericancountries,andBrazilhassetupanationalfestivaltocelebrateeveryAugustthearrivalofChineseimmigrantstoBrazil.

InFebruary2021,thefirstChineseschoolinBrazilopenedinRiodeJaneiro.Twoyearslater,thetwocountrieslaunchedvirtualcoursesforteachingChineselanguageandculturetobeginners.

ChinaandBrazilneedtocapitalizeonthe50thanniversaryoftheirdiplomaticrelationsnextyeartocarryoutmorepeople-to-peopleexchanges,andcultivatestrongerpublicsupportforSino-Brazilianfriendship,XisaidFriday.

Similarly,LulasaidhehasfullconfidencethatBrazil-Chinarelationswillembraceabrighterfuture.■