On April 4, Brazilian President Lula began his visit to China, which was Lula's first visit to China after becoming President of Brazil for the third time.
The large business delegation and the four-day visit are the focus of attention to Lula's visit.
China and Brazil are both large developing countries and important emerging market countries, and each other is a comprehensive strategic partner. When he became president on January 2023, 1, Lula said that Pakistan attaches great importance to relations with China, hopes to strengthen strategic and long-term cooperation with China, and looks forward to leading a delegation to visit China to further deepen practical cooperation in various fields with China, enhance the friendship between the two peoples, and push Pakistan-China relations to a new level.
At present, with the accelerated evolution of the century-old changes and the profound adjustment of the international balance of power, how will Brazil under Lula's leadership deepen cooperation with China under the new world pattern? How will this visit push China-Pakistan relations to a new future and a new level?
In this regard, China News Agency "East-West Question, China-China Dialogue" invited Zhou Zhiwei, deputy director of the International Relations Research Office of the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, executive director and researcher of the Brazilian Research Center, and Alessandro Teixeira, professor of Tsinghua University and former chief economic adviser to the President of Brazil, to analyze and interpret it.
Video: Former President of Brazil's Chief Economic Adviser: Lula's delegation to China is unprecedented Source: China News Network
Experts said that Lula's visit to China began more than 100 days after taking office, reflecting Lula's emphasis on bilateral relations. It is foreseeable that the Lula government's attitude towards China has two key words, one is "priority" and the other is "pragmatic". China and Brazil are not only close trading partners, but also "brothers" in close cooperation in multilateral mechanisms such as BRICS and the G20, and their common pursuits and concepts make China-Brazil cooperation promising.
Excerpts from the conversation are as follows:
China News Agency: Brazil is the largest country and economy in Latin America, how do you view the development of China-Brazil relations in recent years? What are the highlights of Brazil's China policy under Lula's leadership?
Fu Xin: Whether in the diplomatic or economic fields, Brazil believes that Pakistan-China relations are very important. China is Brazil's largest trading partner, and the total amount of goods it imports from Brazil has grown rapidly over the past decade. At the same time, Brazil and China have close exchanges and cooperation at the level of science and technology, and many Chinese technology companies have settled in Brazil. Therefore, relations with China are one of the most important foreign relations of Brazil.
Video: Former Brazil's chief economic adviser: Brazil and China are "brothers" who work closely togetherSource: China News Network
Zhou Zhiwei: 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil, and although Brazil is one of the countries farthest away from China in the world, in 1993, Brazil became the first country in the world to establish a strategic partnership with China. In 2012, Brazil became the first Latin American country to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with China.
Lula has visited China many times during his previous presidency of Brazil, and the diplomacy of the head of state has well guaranteed mutual political trust between the two sides. In China-Pakistan relations, economic and trade cooperation is the brightest report card. Since 2009, China has overtaken the United States as Brazil's largest trading partner. Brazilians commented that a far-flung eastern country could replace the United States as Brazil's largest trading partner was "a revolutionary fundamental change" that reflected a profound change in the global landscape.
In my opinion, the Lula government's attitude towards China has two key words, one is "priority" and the other is "pragmatic". At the economic and trade level, at the moment of the global economic downturn, Brazil attaches great importance to economic and trade cooperation with China. After Lula comes to power, he wants to reshape Brazil's status as a great power, speak more actively in global affairs, and communicate and coordinate positions with China.
China News Agency: China has maintained Brazil's position as the largest trading partner and the largest export market for 14 consecutive years, and Brazil is China's largest investment destination in Latin America.
In 2009, during Lula's second presidency, China became Brazil's most important trading partner. At the same time, it was during President Lula's tenure that China invested heavily in Brazil in infrastructure and technology. Lula's visit to China was accompanied by an unprecedented delegation, followed by more than 200 political and business representatives, which shows how much Brazil attaches importance to its relations with China.
Lula's visit will reaffirm his attitude of attaching great importance to relations with China and demonstrate Brazil's commitment to continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges between Brazil and China in the economic, social and cultural fields. As the world's two major developing countries, Brazil and China are committed to solving the problem of poverty, pursuing common prosperity, promoting national modernization, and striving to make people's lives better. In addition, Pakistan and China are not only trading partners, but also "brothers" in close cooperation in multilateral mechanisms such as BRICS and the G20, and their common pursuit and philosophy make Pakistan-China cooperation promising.
Zhou Zhiwei: The size of the delegation accompanying Lula to China is huge, and the economic and trade representatives in the delegation cover almost all fields of China-Pakistan trade, and they all recognize the potential of the Chinese market. In 2022, Brazil's exports to China will be nearly three times the value of exports to the United States, and at the economic and trade level, China's importance to Brazil cannot be replaced by any country.
On the other hand, Brazil is also very important to China, Brazil is China's eighth largest trading partner, China and Brazil are so far apart, the scale of trade can reach this level, reflecting the high degree of complementarity between the two sides. What you need is exactly what I have, and this complementary relationship will better resolve some of the current politicization tendencies in the field of international trade, third-party interference and other factors.
Infographic: Brazilian President Lula.
China News Agency: China and Pakistan are both "BRICS countries", and Lula has repeatedly said that he will work to strengthen BRICS cooperation. In the current world economic environment, what can BRICS cooperation bring to the global economy?
Fu Xin: President Lula is one of the founders of the BRICS mechanism and an active promoter of BRICS cooperation. In 2009, the leaders of the then BRIC countries held their first official meeting in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and Lula participated as President of Brazil. At present, the main engine of the world economy is the developing countries. The BRICS cooperation mechanism can represent emerging market countries and developing countries and better speak out on the international stage.
Zhou Zhiwei: The concept of "BRICS" is based on the growth potential of emerging market countries, which is a comprehensive concept with political and economic connotations. In the past 20 years, although the economic growth rate of each BRICS country has been different, on the whole, the BRICS countries still maintain a very obvious advantage among large developing countries and emerging countries.
At the same time, in addition to economic and trade cooperation, BRICS countries have common ideas on global governance and enhancing the voice of developing countries and emerging economies. In recent years, BRICS countries have been expressing their common position in global affairs, and this joint response and joint voice shows the vitality of the BRICS cooperation mechanism. China and Brazil are two representative countries in BRICS cooperation, and the two countries promote trade and investment facilitation in bilateral relations, oppose protectionism and exclusionism of developed countries in the international trade arena, and adhere to multilateral cooperation in global governance, which has positive impact and enlightenment significance for current international relations and global trade.
Data map: On November 2022, 11, the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation Application Forum was successfully held. Photo courtesy of China National Space Administration
China News Agency: In his speech at the presidential inauguration ceremony, Lula said that Brazil is willing to promote dialogue with global partners. What impact does Lula's visit and China-Pakistan relations in the new era have on the global political and economic pattern?
Fu Xin: The impact is huge. Lula said that Brazil is willing to promote dialogue with China and other countries, which has shown that he believes in the existence of a multipolar world without hegemonism, firmly believes that global governance should adhere to multilateralism, and firmly believes that exchanges between countries should uphold the principle of equality and mutual benefit, which is also the principle of China's diplomacy. Lula's visit to China also showed the world that the two major major developing countries are committed to realizing many common visions, such as sustainable development, high-quality development, poverty eradication, and national modernization.
Zhou Zhiwei: China and Pakistan have two common identities, both developing countries and emerging market countries, and the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries is a huge boost to global "South-South cooperation". At present, hegemonism, unilateralism and power politics are on the rise in the international arena, multilateralism is being squeezed, and it is being hijacked by the power politics of some countries. In this context, Brazil under Lula will attach more importance to multilateral cooperation, which is also a concept that has always been upheld in the history of Brazilian diplomacy. Future China-Brazil and China-Latin America cooperation, especially in the field of infrastructure, can promote Latin American regional connectivity and sustained economic growth, and have a very positive impact on maintaining the global multilateral environment.