RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China is an essential partner for Brazil as the South American country envisions a future combining economic growth with environmental sustainability, said Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao on Thursday.
"China's new strategies for a circular and sustainable economy represent opportunities to expand and diversify our bilateral economic ties," Mourao said during the presentation of a document titled "Foundations for Brazil's long-term China strategy," organized by the Brazil-China Business Council.
"The global reality that will emerge after the pandemic will be guided by the search for a new model of economic development -- much greener and more technological," said Mourao. "There is no doubt that sustainability has become the great theme of our century. In that regard, Brazil has an unrivaled natural heritage, but that is still insufficiently mapped and little used."
"Few international partners have China's capacity and technological resources. The transversality of the environmental issue should be a motive for international unity and cooperation," without sacrificing "each country's sovereign decision to choose the development model that best serves the wishes of their respective populations," Mourao said.
"The statement that opportunity and strategy go hand in hand with our relationship with China, which has been our largest trading partner for a decade, remains valid. The global crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic did not alter this picture," he said.
The Brazilian government is working to identify national priorities for the future of its partnership with China, said the vice president.
To that end, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, along with the private sector, conducted a broad survey to better understand the most immediate difficulties facing exporters and entrepreneurs interested in doing business with China, he said.
At the same time, Brazil is giving greater dynamism and flexibility to the China-Brazil High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee (COSBAN), to provide faster and more effective responses to the challenges of our time, he said, adding that "government coordination has been productive and continues to function fully to follow up on the commitments that we agreed to with the Chinese side at the 2019 COSBAN."
Brazil's relations with China have indisputable potential for growth, he noted. "Over the last 20 years, we have seen exponential growth in the ties between our countries, sustained by a spontaneous complementarity that led our agribusiness to unprecedented levels of productivity and technology."
Today, the two countries need to find ways to expand and diversify existing ties, to generate opportunities for other sectors of the economy and society, said Mourao.
