China, Brazil sign $27B trade agreements

BRICS

BRASILIA, May 19, 2015 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) shakes hands with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff during their talks in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, May 19, 2015. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Tuesday that China and Brazil have signed trade agreements worth of 27 billion U.S. dollars.

Li made the remarks at a joint press conference with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff after they held talks and attended a video ground-breaking ceremony for the ultra-high voltage electricity transmission project in the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.

Chinese Premier also announced Beijing is to establish a $30B special fund for promoting China-Latin America cooperation in production capacity and equipment manufacturing.

The fund will be channeled directly to cooperation projects with no political strings attached, Li said at the closing ceremony of a China-Brazil business summit.

China and Brazil issued a joint statement to further facilitate bilateral trade Tuesday after talks. According to the statement, the two sides agree to form a working group under the trade subcommittee of the China-Brazil High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee to promote services trade, while the existing working group for investment will continue to promote two-way industrial investment.

The two sides pledge to further facilitate bilateral cooperation in aviation, food processing, machinery equipment, auto and hi-tech products, oil and gas, electricity, renewable energy, railway, port, water transport, mining, agriculture, animal husbandry and services, it said.

Bilateral investment and cooperation will be strengthened in infrastructure, logistics, energy, mining, manufacturing and agriculture trade, it added.

In the statement, the Chinese side announces completion of the approval process for importing the first 22 out of 60 Brazilian-made planes under a purchase deal signed in July 2014. The two countries also vow to expand beef, pork and poultry trade.

The two sides agreed to conduct regular consultations on respective macro-economic policies as well as international and regional financial issues, hailing the progress toward establishing a BRICS development bank and a contingent reserve arrangement.

The two sides said that the bilateral railway cooperation would be vital to infrastructure integration in South America and sustained development of infrastructure networks.

The Brazilian government welcomes China as a bidder for railway projects in Brazil, particularly those related to a proposed transcontinental railway linking the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

In July 2014, China, Brazil and Peru pledged concerted efforts to build a railway that runs across the South American continent, after a meeting of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Brazilian and Peruvian counterparts in Brazil.

The railway will not only help South America improve its transportation system and promote regional trade, but also will boost the trade and economic cooperation between China and Latin American countries.
Later in the day, he will travel to Rio De Janeiro to continue his visit.

Brazil is the first stop of Li’s four-nation Latin America tour, his first to the region since he assumed premiership in 2013. Besides Brazil, Li will also visit Colombia, Peru and Chile till May 26.
Story compiled with the information from Xinhua.