Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin has wrapped up his four-day mission to China having secured 24.6 billion reais (US$4.49 billion) in investments for his country.
The approval for the funds came during the first in-person meeting of the Sino-Brazilian High-Level Commission for Consultation and Cooperation (Cosban) in five years. This year the bilateral platform, co-chaired by Alckmin and his Chinese counterpart, Han Zheng, focused on trade, infrastructure and climate change. The latter is top of mind as Brazil contends with the worst natural disaster in its history: catastrophic flooding in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul that has killed at least 161 people and left more than 650,000 homeless.
A deal with the Asian Infrastructure Bank (AIIB) secured during the visit guarantees up to 5 billion reais for emergency support to the devastated Brazilian state. A separate financing agreement with the BRICS bank netted another 5.7 billion reais for Rio Grande do Sul. “I am confident that the state’s reconstruction will surpass the destruction,” stated Alckmin.
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Some 4 billion reais in credits from the China Development Bank will go to the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) for infrastructure projects focused on fighting climate change and promoting the green economy. Alckmin emphasised the commitment of the Brazilian government to sustainable development and environmental preservation.
Beijing is already heavily invested in Brazil’s green economy, as evidenced by the recent opening of two Chinese-owned solar plants and the announcement of plans to construct two wind farms in northeastern Brazil. Energy was among the many sectors represented in Alckmin’s discussions with representatives of Chinese firms, along with automotive manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and others.
Throughout the visit Alckmin and other Brazilian ministers promoted the country’s major infrastructure modernisation initiative, Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento (PAC), launched by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Greater synergy between PAC, which includes re-industrialisation and bolstering infrastructure connections with other South American countries, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative was highlighted by President Xi Jinping as a possibility for the “new future of China-Brazil relations.”
