Vice-president: Brazil seeks to add value to exports to China

The focus lies on opportunities for soy, iron ore, and petroleum

Published on 23/05/2022 - 14:00 By Pedro Peduzzi - Brasília

Brazil is seeking to add value to products exported to China, especially those linked to soybeans, iron ore, and oil. The guidelines being drawn up in bilateral plans with the Asian country should usher in new ties and investments in sectors like agriculture, health, and communications, as well as infrastructure, trade, education and sustainability.

The statements were made today (May 23) by Brazil’s vice-President Hamilton Mourão, referring to what had been discussed shortly before at the 4th Plenary Session of the Sino-Brazilian High Level Commission for Consultation and Cooperation (Cosban) at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.

“We want to add value to our top three commodities shipped to China: soy and its derivatives, iron ore, and petroleum,” he declared. “We want to open up to new products. Today, we discussed the wheat to be produced in [the states of] Bahia, Ceará, and Roraima,” he went on.

The vice-president also said that Brazil will try to benefit from green funds created by the Chinese. “Last year, [the Chinese] created a fund to support actions against deforestation and foster the sustainable development of the Amazon. We are discussing ways to have access to this fund.”

The path ahead

Mourão added that the documents being drafted during meetings with representatives from both nations include guidelines that must be observed by the next administration. “Two plans will move forward regardless of the government that is elected—the strategic one, to last until the end of the decade; and the executive one, until the end of 2026,” he noted.

“The coming government will find the path already outlined, with predictable, common objectives,” he went on, adding that among the plan's priorities are China’s participation in infrastructure projects planned by the Investment Partnership Program (PPI), especially concerning the construction of the bi-oceanic corridor connecting Brazil and the Pacific starting on the border with the Paraguayan city of Porto Murtinho.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Paula Laboissière

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