Chinese PM to visit Brazil along with 150 executives
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang
Less than a year after a visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping, when more than 50 agreements were signed, China is sending Prime Minister Li Keqiang and 150 business leaders to Brazil. The purpose of the mission is to strengthen cooperation and trade between the two countries.
Brazil's government expects that the upcoming visit will put an end to the issue with Brazil's beef exports to China. During Xi Jinping's visit in July 2014, the Chinese government announced it would lift a ban on Brazilian beef that had been in effect since 2012. However, there is a pending sanitary protocol to be signed.
The Chinese premier meets President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday (May 19). Meanwhile, Chinese business leaders will meet Brazilian private sector representatives for the Brazil-China Business Summit at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Brasília (Itamaraty). Many of the 150 Chinese executives are linked to the banking and engineering industries.
According to CBBC Executive Secretary Júlia Dias Leite, the two official visits in such a short period “shows Brazil's importance for the Chinese government and the maturity of the relationship” between the two countries.
On Wednesday (May 20), the Chinese mission heads to Rio de Janeiro, where Chinese brands will be exhibiting their products and the prime minister is expected to join a boat tour of Guanabara Bay.
In recent times, China's traditionally high growth rates have been slowing down. In 2014, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 7.4%, its lowest in 24 years. In the first quarter of 2015, China's GDP grew by 7%, the lowest rate in six years.
The country has also been losing ground as a destination for Brazil's exports. Its share of Brazil's total exports fell from 19.32% in January–March 2014 to 14.47% in the same period this year, due to falling commodity prices. Still, China topped the foreign markets ranking for Brazilian products in the first quarter of 2015 and is considered a strategic business partner.
*With additional reporting by Danilo Macedo
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Chinese PM to visit Brazil along with 150 executives
