The group of Brazilian businessmen who are in Beijing say they are meeting people increasingly interested in increasing relations with Brazil, which already has the Asian country as its main trade partner. Besides the change in Brazilian internal politics having altered the perception of the country abroad, the geopolitical context is presented by some as an unprecedented opportunity for Latin American businessmen.
Silvano Mendes, RFI Special Envoy to Beijing
(RFI) Since arriving in the Chinese capital, the members of the Brazilian delegation have repeated that the doors to China have opened again with Lula’s return to power. Government members and diplomats also hammer in each meeting with the press that the friendly atmosphere of the trip is mainly due to the new Brazilian political context.
“More than 600 people, from both sides, wanted to participate in this event with the two presidents here in Beijing,” says Jorge Viana, president of the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), which is organizing a good part of the delegation’s agenda in the Chinese capital. “It is almost inexplicable how much damage we had because of what happened in the last four years [of the Bolsonaro government]. And now Brazil resumes with strength,” summarizes the former governor of Acre and long-time close friend of President Lula.
Viana adopts the same tone as the statements made in previous days by Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Minister Carlos Fávaro, the only member of the government’s first line currently in the Chinese capital – the others postponed their trip after the announcement that the president could not travel for medical reasons.
“Business is business”
However, domestic politics does not seem to be solely responsible for the delegation’s optimism. The delicate geopolitical context is seen by some as an opportunity for Brazil. “There is a lot of tension between China and the United States and between China and Europe, now at war. Not that I want to take advantage of bad situations, but business is business,” Viana launched on the margins of the China-Brazil Dialogue on Sustainable Development event. The conference was organized in Beijing on Monday (27) by the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI) and the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), in partnership with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).
“I have no doubt that Brazil, closing the Mercosur-European Union agreement and building a strategic relationship with China, stirs the economic geography of the world,” glimpses the president of Apex. “If this friction that [China] has permanent with the United States [continues], but if you have Chinese companies, in partnership with Brazilian companies, producing in Brazil, you can sell yourself in the United States and you can sell yourself to Europe,” he explains.
“I think that Brazil can take great advantage in this conflict that we are experiencing in the world today, mainly by doing the right thing in foreign policy. Stopping to do what we saw the past government doing: a relationship with China of disdain and provocation. This political change brings many possibilities,” insists the president of Apex.
*** Translated by the DEFCONPress FYI Team ***