China and Brazil seal $10 billion deal

[South-South Cooperation] -- China, Brazil

Lula da Silva & Hu Jintao

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Brazilian counterpart, Lula da Silva, finished writing the latest chapter in Sino-Brazilian Cooperation earlier today in Beijing.

ChinaSouthAmerica has been following this story for a few months now, and I must say, it is nice to see a classic example of South-South Cooperation / Emerging Market Cooperation (whatever you want to call it) develop and eventually get finalized.

Here are a few excerpts from a WSJ article that a great job of summing up the details.

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State-owned Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it finalized a $10 billion loan agreement from China in return for a long-term supply of oil, another victory for China's new strategy of using its cash-rich banks to help secure the natural resources the country needs to keep its economy growing.
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Petroleo Brasileiro, known as Petrobras, said under the terms of the 10-year loan from China Development Bank, which has been at the center of China's resources policy, Brazil would supply China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec, 150,000 barrels of oil a day for the first year, rising to 200,000 barrels a day for another nine years.

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Mr. Gabrielli said the loan's interest rate was under 6.5%, and the loan used oil revenue as collateral but would be repaid in cash -- not oil. Although the deal didn't include guarantees to buy Chinese products or services, other deals will work on exploring closer cooperation, such as moving Chinese equipment factories to Brazil.

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China's mission to secure commodities does not stop with Brazil--as you are well aware if your a frequent reader at this site.

Beijing has struck similar agreements with energy producers world-wide in recent months, including a $10 billion deal with Kazakhstan and a $25 billion deal with Russian oil and pipeline companies.

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Stay tuned for further developments and ChinaSouthAmerica's analysis this deal and growth of Sino-Brazilian Cooperation.

Brazil's president arrives in Beijing

[South-South Cooperation] -- China, Brazil -- Al Jazeera

Lula arrives in China - [Reuters]

Brazil's president has arrived in China for three days of talks expected to focus on broadening ties between two of the world's largest developing economies and moves to decrease their dependency on the US dollar.

The visit by Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva is his second in 12 months, highlighting the importance of China which recently overtook the US as Brazil's most important trading partner.

On Tuesday Lula will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, as well as host a bilateral business forum and visit an aircraft factory.

Speaking ahead of the visit he said he was looking to the trip to promote "a new economic order", while an official from the country's foreign ministry said a theme of the talks would be a "reorganisation of the international scene".

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Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng reporting from Beijing says the main point of discussion during Lula's visit will be on Brazilian energy resources which Beijing, with reserve funds to spare, was keen to exploit.

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Brazil's two-way trade with China, one of the few economies still growing strongly despite the global crisis, reached $3.2bn in April, surpassing the $2.8bn trade total with the US.

So far this year, government data showed that Brazilian exports to China grew 65 per cent over the same period in 2008, rising from $3.4bn to $5.6bn.

Click here to access the complete article from Al Jazeera

Sino-Venezuelan Cooperation

Good old Hu Jintao and señor Chavez met in Beijing today and agreed to step up their efforts to advance cooperation in energy, agriculture and technology.

The two also agreed to take joint steps to combat the financial crisis. How they hope to achieve such a grand goal, one can not say. All in all it's not much different than all the talk that has been going on about fighting the global financial crisis.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, 4/8/09. (Xinhua)

APEC, the UN, IMF, US-Euro, the "G2," etc. All these multilateral organizations and the major economies of the world seem to be making a lot of pledges these days. If anything I think its a good thing in order to restore confidence around the globe. As for this recent foray of China-Venezuelan Cooperation, it is nothing THAT special.

It indicates Chavez continues to aggressively pursue new export markets for Venezuela's oil. Chavez was in Japan earlier this week where he also succeed in getting Japan to promise over $30 billion in investments for Venezuela's oil and gas industry in exchange for guaranteeing a healthy supply for the island (see this Bloomberg article).

Chavez also thanked China for the successful launch of Venezuela's first telecommunications satellite, which according to Chavez will help the "Bolivarian Nation," (a.k.a. Venezuela) achieve scientific and technological independence (see this CNN article about the launch).

Second, it shows that even in the wake of a financial crisis, developing nations are mutually interested in building their relations for the long-term. This means that they remain optimistic about the long-term picture.

A good thing considering growth in the developing world and rising demand from domestic economies is going play a siginificant role in helping the global ecoonomy emerge from this financial crisis.

Of all the announcements, the most important would have to be Hu Jintao's rhetoric. China has its poker face on and is planning its next couple of moves VERY carefully.

The financial crisis has given it a golden opportunity to assert it self on to the world stage. Personally, I believe leaders in China would have preferred to wait a while longer before being forced onto the world stage as a major decision maker and agent of change.

By forging strong alliances with the other developing countries like Venezuela and more importantly the fellow members of the BRIC block (Brazil, Russia, India and China), Hu Jintao and the rest of China's leaders are slowly building allies to support China in a new global framwork.

Taiwan loosing ground in Latin America

The election of left-leaning Mauricio Funes in El Salvador is not about to cause the country to dismantle private property laws, retreat on free trade or any of the other major fears associated with left-wing politics.

Funes will however finally move El Salvador from Taiwan's speed-dial to that of the People's Republic of China (the Mainland).

Taiwan maintains official diplomatic relations with roughly 23 countries around the world, a good handful of which are in Central and South America. Taiwan has typically been able to maintain these relations thanks to "money diplomacy."




China may be a huge economy, but by and large it is still relatively poor and filling the void of billions of Taiwanese aid $'s hasn't been on the top of China's agenda, especially for the countries that have bananas to offer in terms of commodities (instead of metals or energy).

Experts seem to think Taiwan's best bet is to attempt to achieve some type of "dual recognition," meaning acknowledging the coexistence of both the PRC and the Republic of China on Taiwan. Making for "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" stance.

Hey Taiwan! I love you and think your country is a wonderful place and you have all the right to fight for what you believe... but common' get real.

As you can see in this previous post, when the PRC visits leaders in Africa and Latin America one of the first courteous gestures is to emphasize the given countries dedication to support the the PRC's "one China" policy.

China-Uruguay talk cooperation

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez met in Beijing yesterday for another typical diplomatic cocktail party in the world of Sino-South American relations.

These meet and greets between China and South American countries are typically very similar, nevertheless, some good information can emerge from them if you pick it out and read in between in the lines.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) hosts a welcoming ceremony for
Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez at the Great Hall of the People
in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2009. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

Interesting snaps of information worth sharing from this Xinhua News Media article include:

->> China has become the third biggest trading partner of Uruguay
->> The country's plan on exploring ways to cooperate in the agriculture, fishery, product quality inspection, software and engineering technology consultation fields
->> China also proposed the two nations boost cultural and people-to-people exchanges by expanding cooperation in culture, education, sports, media, and tourism sectors—good news for people in the tourism industry.


The typical diplomatic kiss a$$ that goes down on a usual meeting of a top Chinese and South American official.

->> China and the given South American agree (over-and-over again) to promote bilateral relations to a higher level.
->> China South American country XYZ state that important progress in cooperation in various areas has been achieved since diplomatic relations where established back in the day
->> Both country's agree to support peaceful resolutions to international issues and not intervene in one anthers internal affairs... Meaning, lets do business and help each other out but don't you dare stick your nose into my house.
->> China thanks South American country XYZ for supporting the one-China policy and its firm support on issues concerning Taiwan and Tibet.

Official foreign tours by China's top leaders to Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Europe highlight “confidence, friendship and cooperation.”

Top officials from the Chinese government have been busy visiting or preparing for trips to Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe.

Premier Wen Jiaobao latest European trip has boosted confidence in the two regions joint efforts at tackling the global financial crisis, reported Xinhua today.

Chinese Preisdent Hu Jintao will visit Saudi Arabia, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mautitius from Feb 10th to Feb 17th.

Vice President Xi Jinping left yesterday on Sunday to meet Vice Premier Hui Liangyu (below) for his own official visits to Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Malta.

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu (2nd L) is greeted upon his arrival in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Feb. 8, 2009.(Xinhua/Martin Zabala)

Jia Qingguo, associate dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University, told the Beijing-based Global Times newspaper that “the international community expects China's greater involvement in international affairs and a greater international responsibility for China.”

On the other hand, "it signifies that China is placing a greater emphasis on cooperation with the rest of the world, which has an important bearing on our own interests," Jia said.

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu (L) is greeted upon his arrival in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Feb. 8, 2009. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)

South-South Cooperation in focus: Chinese President to visit 5 Asian, African countries

BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay state visits to Saudi Arabia, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius from Feb. 10 to 17, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu announced Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman -- Jiang Yu

Jiang told a regular press conference that Hu's visit is aimed at further consolidating China's friendship and cooperation with these countries, strengthening China's cooperation with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and promoting the implementation of the measures announced at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation...

Click here to access the full article from Xinhua, also of interest might be this piece -->

Chinese, Sudanese presidents exchange congratulatory messages marking establishment of diplomatic ties -- Xinhua

China, Mexico etablish strategic dialogue mechanism reports Xinhua News

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China and Mexico announced the establishment of a strategic dialogue mechanism on Friday during talks between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon Hinojosa.

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Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa during the welcoming ceremony Hu hosts for him at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 11, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
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During the talks, Hu put forward a four-point proposal to cement Sino-Mexican relations:

--Strengthening political dialogue, maintaining high-level contact, and realizing the action plan from 2006 to 2010 to promote strategic partnership;

--Boosting a win-win economic cooperation. The Chinese government encourages its enterprises to invest in Mexico's infrastructure including ports, roads, and hydroelectric stations, and supports cooperation on mining, telecommunication, agriculture and the fishing industry;

--Pushing personnel exchanges in the fields of culture, education, traditional medicine and social development;

--Promoting multilateral cooperation and consultation on major international affairs so as to safeguard the legal rights of developing countries..................

Click here to access the full article from Xinhua News

China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico meet to discuss increasing "South-South cooperation," among developing countries

Chinese President Hu Jintao put froward four main areas in which developing countries could cooperate and coordinate to promote development of the "global south."

Hu Jintao stated China and the four other developing countries in which he met with have "vast potential for cooperation." He also stressed the "importance of strengthening solidarity and cooperation."

Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R) pose for photos with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (1st R), Mexican President Felipe Calderon (C), Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (2nd L) and South African President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki before their meeting in Sapporo, northern Japan, July 8, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)


*** Click here to access the full story from Xinhua, China's state media

It is clear the influence of the "G-8" is quickly fading. Despite the economic and political influence in which the the world's richest nations still maintain in the world, developing nations have begun their ascent in the World Economy.

China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa together are in their own respect the leaders of their own respective continents... at least in terms of size and economic might.

This recent development is only one example of how emerging markets are increasingly finding strength from one another markets and respective economic growth, as opposed to relying on demand and markets in the developed world.