Beijing, 4 Apr (ZXS) -- In the spring, China and Pakistan once again "shook hands" across thousands of miles. As an "old friend of the Chinese people", Lula came to China for the first time after his first visit to countries outside the Americas after taking office as president of Brazil, and his four-day state visit was full. Some commentators said that another "handshake" between the largest developing countries in the eastern and western hemispheres has opened a new "door of opportunity" for cooperation and opened a "new moment" in China-Pakistan relations.
Opportunities for Brazil to revitalize
Lula said before his trip that Brazil "shares a lot of views with China" and that he has a lot of work to do during the visit to "strengthen relations with its largest trading partner." Some comments before the visit pointed out that Lula's visit was like an embrace across the eastern and western hemispheres.
During this visit, the two heads of state held talks to plan the future of bilateral relations from a strategic height. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China has always viewed and developed relations with Brazil from a strategic height and long-term perspective, and placed China-Brazil relations in a diplomatic priority. Lula said: This is my first visit to a country outside the Americas since I became president, which reflects Pakistan's love for China and the importance it attaches to the development of Pakistan-China relations.
During the visit, the two countries issued a joint statement to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership, and signed and reached a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding in various fields. Experts believe that the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and Pakistan and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries will be celebrated next year, and the two sides have opened a new chapter in friendly cooperation between the two countries.
"After Lula became president, he made major policy adjustments in many aspects of domestic and foreign affairs, changing the isolationist policy adopted by the previous government to some extent. In Lula's thinking, strengthening cooperation with China could provide Brazil with opportunities to reinvigorate development. Song Junying, director of the Institute of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said.
For example, strengthening cooperation in the area of poverty reduction was an important concern of Lula's trip. Song Junying noted that the problem of poverty in Brazil under the impact of the epidemic is prominent, and it is still a bottleneck restricting economic and social development, which has also become the direction of Lula's efforts to overcome after taking office, and China has made remarkable achievements in the field of poverty reduction, and Lula hopes to learn from China's poverty reduction experience.
Brazilian scholar Marco Fernandez said that few countries have the same industrial, technological and financial capabilities as China, and signing relevant cooperation documents with China means that Brazil will make major breakthroughs in the next few years. Lula's Chinese behavior has created more opportunities for Brazil, and this is no longer limited to simply exporting goods.
Open a new situation of "political and economic fever" between China and Pakistan
As the largest developing countries in the eastern and western hemispheres, China and Pakistan have deepened cooperation to promote the development and revitalization of their respective countries, and opened up broader cooperation space with their respective development and revitalization. Through this visit, China-Pakistan cooperation has been upgraded in quality and upgrade, opening up a new situation of "political and economic fever", and opening a new "door of opportunity" for mutual development and cooperation.
Brazil is the first Latin American country to exceed $100 billion in trade with China, and China has maintained its position as Brazil's largest trading partner and largest export market for many years. Lula's visit was preceded by a memorandum of cooperation on the establishment of a renminbi clearing arrangement in Brazil, and during the visit to attend the inauguration ceremony of the president of the New Development Bank in Shanghai, Lula called on the BRICS countries to use local currencies for settlement.
"Settlement in local currency is a product of the development of China-Pakistan economic and trade cooperation to a new height, reflecting the level of mutual trust between the two sides. The gradual implementation of the RMB settlement mechanism in Brazil will further promote bilateral trade and investment facilitation, reduce transaction costs for both sides, and reduce dependence on third-party currencies or single currencies. Yuan Dongzhen, deputy director of the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.
Lula's visit to Huawei's Shanghai Research Institute has attracted great attention. Song Junying pointed out that in recent years, the United States has suppressed Chinese high-tech companies such as Huawei, obstructing Latin American countries from cooperating with them in research, Lula visited Huawei Shanghai Research Institute, and China and Pakistan signed cooperation documents on the development of digital economy, showing the determination of the two sides to strengthen cooperation in this field.
After the talks, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of a total of 15 cooperation documents in the fields of poverty reduction, scientific and technological innovation, and aerospace, and issued as many as 49 joint statements by the two sides. Sun Yanfeng, deputy director of the Latin American Institute of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that these are the development areas of key concern of the two sides, covering all aspects of the development of China-Pakistan relations, demonstrating the breadth of cooperation and the great potential of cooperation.
Observers also noted that China and Brazil stressed in the joint statement that they are willing to explore Brazil's development policies and investment plans such as South American integration, and dock with China's development policies and international initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative. The two sides not only hope to develop cooperation in a wide range of fields such as economy and trade, but also are willing to plan and explore new opportunities for common development at a higher level.
Leading cooperation among developing countries
Against the background of the accelerated adjustment of the international pattern, the overall, strategic and global influence of China-Pakistan relations has become increasingly prominent. The "door of opportunity" of China-Pakistan cooperation is also globally oriented, and the two sides will provide more development opportunities for developing countries and even the world on the basis of consensus.
At present, the development of human society is facing increasing uncertainty, and the development tasks of developing countries are becoming more severe. During the meeting, the two heads of state not only jointly mapped the development of bilateral relations, but also exchanged in-depth views on important topics such as climate change and the Ukraine crisis.
Regarding the Ukraine crisis, the two sides agreed that dialogue and negotiation is the only feasible way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, and all efforts conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis should be encouraged and supported. Yuan Dongzhen said that the broad consensus reached by Chinese and Pakistani leaders on this issue represents the forces and voices of peace-loving and opposed power politics and unilateralism, and at the same time shows that the vast number of developing countries can make their voices and contributions in international affairs.
In addition, the two sides decided to establish a subcommittee on environment and climate change under the framework of the China-Brazil High-level Coordination and Cooperation Committee and issue a joint statement on addressing climate change, demonstrating the global vision of China-Brazil cooperation.
"As major countries with international influence, China and Pakistan join hands and speak together, which will help form a leading role and set an example for cooperation among developing countries." Sun Yanfeng said that strengthening cooperation between China and Pakistan, two major developing countries and important emerging economies, can play a greater role in a turbulent world and inject more certainty into global development. (End)