Brazilian Ministerial Visiting Event Held at CCG

March 27 , 2023

【Portuguese】

【Chinese】

On March 27, 2023, the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), together with the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI) and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), jointly held the “China-Brazil Dialogue on Sustainable Development” in Beijing.

Due to the illness of Brazilian President Lula, who has had to postpone his scheduled visit to China, the Brazilian delegation that was supposed to accompany him visited CCG under the leadership of Carlos Fávaro, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil, and participated in this dialogue. Fávaro delivered the keynote speech at the conference.

During his keynote speech, Fávaro expressed his hope that this visit to China would strengthen Brazil’s relationship with the Chinese people and restore the brotherly friendship between Brazil and China. He pointed out that relations between Brazil and China have experienced difficulties in recent years. But now with President Lula’s return, he believes that the China-Brazil relationship is ready to get back on track and that there will be more opportunities for cooperation between the two countries. He emphasized that agricultural prosperity cannot be separated from sustainable development, and Brazil, as a major agricultural country, attaches great importance to the protection of the environment and biodiversity. Brazil also attaches great importance to the protection of the Amazon rainforest. Since President Lula took office, he has emphasized sustainable development and taken a series of corresponding measures. At the same time, Brazil has continued to strengthen cooperation with Chinese companies. This cooperation expands agricultural production and benefits Chinese companies as well, achieving a win-win cooperation. Brazil welcomes more companies to participate in China-Brazil cooperation and achieve sustainable development through technological and investment cooperation, which will jointly benefit people of the two countries.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, Mabel Lu MIAO, Secretary-General of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and Founder and Secretary-General of Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) program, Marcos Caramuru de Paiva, member of CEBRI’s Executive Committee, and Shen Xin, General Director of the Department of American and Oceanic Affairs of CPAFFC, delivered opening remarks. Keynote speeches were also delivered by Tatiana Rosito, Secretary for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance of Brazil, and Adriana Erthal Abdenur, Special Advisor for International Relations at the Presidency of Brazil.

Representatives from Brazilian government departments such as the Presidential Palace, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, as well as leaders from the Brazilian Development Bank, CEBRI, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Brazilian Forestry Certification Research Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Federal University of São Paulo, Tsinghua University, China Agricultural University, and other think tanks and universities attended the event. The participants jointly discussed how enterprises can incorporate low-carbon practices and the opportunities and challenges of energy transformation in the process of sustainable development.

The current global issues of climate warming and frequent extreme weather events have become the focus of worldwide attention. China and Brazil, as two developing countries, highly concerned with sustainable development and environmental protection and have engaged in profound dialogue on related topics, which is of great significance in promoting emissions reduction and addressing global development issues.

Mabel Lu MIAO, Secretary-General of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), Founder and Secretary General of Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) program, emphasized in her speech that China and Brazil are the two largest developing countries in the southern and northern hemispheres, members of the BRICS cooperation mechanism and G20 member states. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have maintained stable and continuous development in their relationship, and have jointly addressed global challenges through pragmatic cooperation. As Brazil’s largest cooperation partner, China is willing to work together with Brazil to contribute to sustainable development. CCG has a deep connection with Brazil, and maintains close communication with the Brazilian Ambassador to China. GYLD members also include a number of young Brazilian professionals. We hope that the two sides can strengthen cooperation in clean energy, agricultural development and other sectors, and work together to achieve the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Marcos Caramuru de Paiva, member of CEBRI’s Executive Committee, noted that both China and Brazil recognize the importance of sustainable development, highlighting Brazil’s goals in energy conservation and China’s commitments to reducing carbon emissions on an international level. The relationship between the two countries has great potential and cooperation between them is crucial for sustainable development and low-carbon transition. He emphasized that the purpose of this dialogue was to establish academic connections and identify priority issues in sustainable development. In the future, he expressed the hope that China and Brazil would not only maintain exchanges at the government level, but also strengthen cooperation at various levels of society, such as enterprises, think tanks, and universities.

Shen Xin, General Director of the Department of American and Oceanic Affairs of CPAFFC, pointed out that China and Brazil, as representatives of developing countries and emerging economies with global influence, have made significant contributions to achieving the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. China attaches great importance to sustainable development and actively pursuing the concept of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. In the face of the ups and downs in the international environment, countries need to unite and cooperate now more than ever. Mutual learning between China and Brazil is very important. She expressed the hope that this dialogue would provide an opportunity for long-term cooperation between the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development and the Brazilian Center for International Relations.

Tatiana Rosito, Secretary for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance of Brazil, mentioned that both the Chinese and Brazilian governments place great importance on sustainable development. The Chinese government has been promoting low-carbon emissions and green economic development through a series of fiscal measures and incentive policies. In 2023, Brazil also introduced green subsidies to encourage investors to participate in sustainable development. In the future, there are still broad prospects for Sino-Brazilian cooperation in the green-oriented transition of energy, infrastructure construction, and industrial development. Brazil hopes to see more Chinese companies involved, strengthening cooperation and dialogue in the fields of government, business, finance, and academics, working together to address environmental problems and achieve sustainable development.

Adriana Erthal Abdenur, Special Advisor for International Relations at the Presidency of Brazil, believes that Brazil has always attached great importance to sustainable development and has been seeking sustainable development partners both domestically and internationally. All levels of the Brazilian government are also formulating relevant strategies and working hard to maintain good dialogue with China to learn from China in green-oriented transition of energy and sustainable development. She believes that the deepening cooperation between Brazil and China will be beneficial to the development of both countries in low-carbon agriculture, low-carbon economy, and other fields, and will enhance the international reputation and discourse power of the two governments, further promoting other members of the international community to fulfill their obligations more responsibly and become models of environmental protection.

The dialogue consisted of two sessions. Session one focused on “Transition to a low-carbon economy and the contribution of businesses”. Participants in the discussion included Zhang Guofu, President of China National Tree Seed Group, Quan Taiyong, Commercial General Manager of Cargill, Yao Jun, Chairman of Shanxi Changrong Agricultural Technology, Pablo Gimenez Machado, Executive Director Asia and President for China of Suzano, Alexandre D’Ambrosio, Executive Vice President, Corporate and External Affairs of Vale and Gilberto Xandó, CEO of JBS Brasil. The session was chaired by Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and former Counselor to the State Council of China.

Wang Huiyao, President of CCG, expressed the belief that there is huge potential for cooperation between Chinese and Brazilian companies. Both countries are members of the BRICS countries, and low-carbon transformation is of great significance to both sides. Against this background, this dialogue is timely. Other speakers also expressed their views that China and Brazil have a long history of cooperation, and the role of enterprises in the low-carbon transformation process is crucial. At present, the development and use of biomass and new energy is still insufficient. Substituting traditional materials with new and sustainable development materials can help increase product added value and reduce production costs, which is a strategic investment in the long run. Low-carbon energy needs to be promoted through cooperation. As China-Brazil relations enter a new stage of development, think tanks can also serve as a bridge for communication between the two countries. It is hoped that this dialogue will encourage more entrepreneurs, researchers, and government officials to participate in low-carbon emission projects. Chinese and Brazilian companies need to maintain close contact, learn from each other’s advanced experience and measures in emission reduction, and jointly achieve the emission reduction goals of both countries.

Session two focused on “solutions for sustainable development and energy transition”. Liu Dehua, Director of the China Brazil Center and Professor at Tsinghua University, Shengen Fan, Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy at China Agricultural University, Li Xia, Director General of Foreign Economic Cooperation Center of Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Suzana Kahn Ribeiro, Professor at COPPE/UFRJ-TSINGHUA Center, Marina Piatto, Diretora Executiva of IMAFLORA, Fabiana Villa Alves, EMBRAPA Specialist in Low Carbon Agriculture from Brazil, Karin Costa Vazquez, Non-Resident Senior Fellow of Center for China and Globalization, and Luiz Gustavo Nussio, Professor at USP/ESALQ, participated in the discussion. This session was moderated by Larissa Wachholz, Senior Fellow of CEBRI.

The participating guests unanimously agreed that China and Brazil have many common interests in sustainable development, and there is enormous cooperation potential in agricultural transformation, environmental and biodiversity protection, low-carbon emission reduction, and biological resources. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without scientific and technological development. China and Brazil will continue to strengthen cooperation in the technology field among universities and think tanks, increase research and development investment, jointly promote energy transformation, and achieve emissions reduction targets. At the same time, both sides are exploring the use of trade means to achieve carbon balance, such as green bonds and carbon trading. Both sides will continue to strengthen dialogue and communication in relevant areas, promote related agendas, learn from each other, and work together to achieve sustainable development goals.

At the end of the Conference, Marcos Caramuru de Paiva, member of CEBRI’s Executive Committee, Natália Dias, Managing Director of Capital Markets, Fund Raising and Investor Relations, BNDES, and Jorge Viana, President of APEX Brazil provided closing summaries. All parties had high praise for the dialogue and expressed their expectations for future positive cooperation between China and Brazil in sustainable development and energy transition. They also emphasized the need to break down language barriers, learn from each other’s solutions, and involve more academics in the drive toward sustainable development.

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