Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Brazilian counterpart Ernesto Araujo his country is willing to work towards building a joint “new highland” of scientific and innovation cooperation, including in 5G communications.
Wang Yi had a phone conversation with his Brazilian counterpart Ernesto Araujo on Friday, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to visit Brazil. China and the US have been involved in a bitter dispute over the adoption by Brazil of 5G communications.
According to a transcript of the talk published by Xinhua, China´s official news agency, Wang Yi said his country is willing to expand investment cooperation with Brazil in various fields including oil and gas, electricity, mining and infrastructure construction.
Wang, according to the transcript, said the two sides will create a “new highland” of scientific and innovation cooperation and foster new cooperation platforms such as digital economy, clean energy, smart agriculture, telemedicine, smart cities, 5G communications and big data, so as to promote the two countries’ industrial upgrading and digital transformation.
China will continue to open its market for Brazil’s high-quality agricultural products and welcome Brazil to participate in the third China International Import Expo, Wang said.
Wang added that China and Brazil are both important emerging markets, and there is no fundamental conflict of interests between them, with cooperation far outweighing competition and consensus far outweighing differences.
The Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister added China is willing to continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Brazil in international and regional affairs, “safeguard the common interests of the two countries, safeguard the authority of international law, hold high the banner of multilateralism, promote the democratization of international relations, and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction”, according to the transcript.
While doing a good job in pandemic prevention and control, China and Brazil should also establish “fast channels” for personnel exchanges and green channels for goods circulation, Wang said.
According to Xinhua, Araujo thanked China for providing anti-pandemic material assistance to Brazil, saying that his country is willing to further strengthen its cooperation with China in vaccine research, development and production.
Araujo also said Brazil is ready to work with China to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, give full play to the existing cooperation mechanisms, deepen practical cooperation in such areas as agriculture, trade and investment, environmental protection, clean energy and digital economy, restart personnel exchanges in various fields as soon as possible and strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs, so as to push China-Brazil comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toured Suriname, Guyana, Brazil and Colombia from September 17-21.
Immediately after introducing Pompeo’s trip, a State Department official attacked China’s investment and projects in the area as “predatory loans and vanity projects” which threaten national security and sovereignty in Latin America countries.
China is Brazil’s largest trade partner, according to data from China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Beijing has slammed U.S. warnings of “consequences” if Brazil chooses Chinese telecom company Huawei to develop its 5G network, accusing Washington of “unscrupulous oppression” of the Chinese tech companies.
