China studying huge investment in Brazil-source Reuters, 04.14.04, 7:53 PM ET
BRASILIA, Brazil, April 14 (Reuters) - The Chinese government is studying investing between $3 billion and $4 billion in infrastructure projects in Brazil, an official involved in talks between the two countries said on Wednesday.
The source, who asked not to be named, spoke after Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met visiting representatives of the China International Trust & Investment Corporation, or Citic, the country's biggest financial conglomerate, to discuss investments in Brazil.
Representatives of Citic and Brasilinvest, a Brazilian company taking part in the talks, said the Chinese investments would be included in a letter of intent to be signed by the leaders of Brazil and China when Lula visits the world's most populous country next month.
The representatives said the Chinese were interested in investing in railways, the petroleum sector and raw materials.
Brazil's agriculture ministry said last February that China was interested in building railways and other infrastructure in Brazil in exchange for commodities like soybeans, cotton, and cane-based ethanol. It said a deal could be signed in May.
Brazil's infrastructure is woefully underdeveloped for the size of its economy and the agricultural sector, which has proved the engine of growth in recent years.
China with Brazil will invest around $US3.5 billion in Latin America to find, produce and refine oil. In China’s Master Plan to Destroy America, Unrestricted Warfare, the Chinese make it clear that grabbing resources is one way in which to conduct this new pattern of warfare.
They have watched us, they have gathered strength and they are beating us at our own game. #msg-2380195
-Am
Oil pact reached between China and Brazil
China and Brazil have agreed on a deal to find, produce and refine oil in third countries.
The announcement has been made by Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobas.
The agreement is expected to be signed next Monday when Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, visits Beijing.
Under the deal, Petrobas and China's state-owned oil company, Sinopec, will invest around $US7.5 billion internationally, with 80 per cent of the funds going towards prospecting and production.
Almost half the money is expected to be invested in Latin America.
19/05/2004 17:18:40 / ABC Radio Australia News
LatAm giant Brazil cozies up to Asian titan China Reuters, 05.17.04, 9:01 AM ET
By Carlos A. DeJuana
SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil and China may be on the opposite sides of the globe but the two countries have never been closer.
Trade between them is at an all-time high and both nations are trying to parlay their economic and demographic weight into international political strength.
It is no surprise then that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will lead his largest delegation yet of diplomats and business leaders when he starts a five-day visit to China Sunday.
The trip will be one of Lula's most important so far as he tries to forge an alliance he hopes can counterweigh U.S. and European influence on the world stage.
"China will be one of the two or three big powers in the next century. We are anxious to get into bed with them," said Oswaldo Biato, who is in charge of the Chinese division at Brazil's Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese also have become interested in Brazil because of its abundant natural resources that could be used to feed China's growing population and surging economy.
Brazilian exports to China have surged 400 percent since 1998, 10 times faster than its overall export growth, said Alexandre Freitas Barbosa at Prospectiva, a Sao Paulo consulting firm.
That turned China into Brazil's third-largest trade partner last year, behind the United States and Argentina, and the government believes it could take the No. 2 spot this year.
"There's a marriage between the types of products Brazil has a comparative advantage in producing and the type of goods China imports," Barbosa said.
Those are mostly soy, iron and steel products, and Chinese companies are expected to invest billions in Brazil to guarantee their access to those goods. Chinese concerns have already offered to build up Brazil's shaky infrastructure to help ensure the products are shipped to China.
But Lula and the 420 businessmen accompanying him are also keen to expand the range of goods Brazil can offer China. A study by the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency has found a variety of products -- from specialty coffees to medical equipment -- that Brazil could sell at an advantage in China.
"A strategic and commercial alliance between the giant of Asia and the giant of South America makes every sense," said Charles Tang, president of the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
According to data from Brazil's Foreign Ministry, exports to the countries Lula visited last year to drum up trade, like Egypt and South Africa, surged in the first fourth months of the year -- though some economists say that partly reflects currency factors.
BUILDING BLOCS
Trade will not be the only thing on Lula's mind.
Lula said last week it was important to win China's support for strategic issues like its bid to expand the number of permanent seats on the U.N Security Council. He is also likely to seek consensus on issues like economic development, poverty reduction and global trade, a government official said.
Like Brazil, China is a leading member of the Group of 20 developing nations, which is trying to secure better terms at the World Trade Organization.
Since his election Lula has tried to improve relations with other important developing nations, such as India, as part of a wider strategy that sees strength in numbers when confronting the United States and Europe in international forums.
Although the previous government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso also sought a leading role for Brazil, Lula has given the mission renewed passion.
"Quite clearly there's a new vision in the Lula administration about where Brazil should go and where it should be positioned in the next decade or so," said Riordan Roett, director of the Latin American Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.
"The degree to which Lula has been able to bring together those very disparate international actors in different continents is really quite impressive." (Additional reporting by Andrew Hay and Claudia Pires in Brasilia and Adriana Garcia in Sao Paulo)
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