People’s Republic of China

Brazil-China relations were established in 1974, when the Embassy of Brazil in Beijing and the Embassy of China in Brasília were opened. Brazil has Consulates General in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. China has Consulates General in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Recife.

Bilateral relations have showed a significant dynamism. Since 2009, China has been Brazil's major trading partner and one of the main sources of foreign investment flows into the country. Relations between the two countries go beyond the bilateral arena: Brazil and China have also held talks in mechanisms such as  BRICS, G20, WTO and BASIC (a coordinating bloc consisting of Brazil, South Africa, India and China to discuss environmental issues).

In 1993, Brazil and China established a "Strategic Partnership", and in 2004 the Brazil-China High-Level Commission for Coordination and Cooperation (COSBAN) was created.

In 2012, relations were elevated to “Global Strategic Partnership". That year, the Global Strategic Dialogue (GSD) was established, and the Brazil-China Ten-year Cooperation Plan (2012-2021) was signed.

COSBAN, the highest-level permanent mechanism of bilateral dialogue and cooperation, is co-chaired by the vice presidents of Brazil and China. Its sixth and most recent meeting was held virtually, in May 2022. Previous plenary sessions were held in Beijing (2006), Brasília (2012), Guangzhou (2013), Brasília (2015), and Beijing (2019)

During the 6th COSBAN Plenary Session, Brazil and China agreed on the Commission’s new framework, composed of ten thematic subcommittees dealing with a number of areas of the bilateral relationship: Political; Economic-Commercial and Cooperation; Economic-Financial; Industry, Information and Communication Technology; Agriculture; Sanitary and Phytosanitary Themes; Energy and Mining; Science, Technology and Innovation; Space; and Culture and Tourism. The Executive Plan 2022-2026 and the  Strategic Plan 2022-2031, which will guide bilateral relations between 2022 and 2031, were also launched. The two documents, together with the new COSBAN framework, outlined new horizons, goals and principles for bilateral cooperation in the coming years, based on three strategic fields: Political; Economy, Investment, Trade and Cooperation; and Science, Technology and Innovation.

In July 2019, the third edition of the Global Strategic Dialogue (GSD) was held in Brasília. The GSD is a mechanism established between foreign ministers to follow the bilateral agenda and to promote the exchange of views on international issues. Previous GSD meetings were held in Brasília (April 2014) and in Beijing (June 2017).

In 2019 President Jair Bolsonaro made a State visit to Beijing (October 25) , and President Xi Jinping visited Brasília (November 13-14) within the context of the 11th BRICS Summit (November 13-14). In additon, visits of ministers and authorities from the two countries took place.

In April 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made his third State visit to China. As an outcome of the visit, the most comprehensive joint declaration was issued by Brazil and China, addressing cooperation in a range of areas – from economy and trade, food security and space cooperation to international issues, such as the conflict in Ukraine -, thus reflecting the multiple dimensions of interests shared. Fifteen governmental documents were signed and 32 business agreements were announced in areas such as renewable energies; industry; automotive; agribusiness; green lines of credit; information technology; health; and infrastructure. In addition, nine ageements  were signed between Brazilian states and other Brazilian and Chinese agencies and companies. In the environmental field, a joint declaration was adopted on the fight against climate change and a specific subcommittee on the theme was created within the scope of COSBAN.

Trade between Brazil and China has expanded significantly since the beginning of the century, growing from $ 3.2 billion in 2001 to a record high of $150.5 billion in 2022 (higher than the $135.5 billion reached in the previous year). China has been Brazil's largest trading partner since 2009. In 2012, China became the main supplier of products imported by Brazil. In 2022, Brazil exported a total of $89.7 billion to China and imported $ 60.7 billion from that country.

Trade between Brazil and China expanded considerably in the past decade, going from $3.2 billion, in 2001, to $98.9 billion, in 2019 (volume almost equal to the record reached in the previous year, of $98.9 billion). China has been Brazil’s main trading partner since 2009. In 2012, China became the leading exporter to Brazil.

In 2019, Brazil exported a total of $62.8 billion to China and imported $35.2 billion from that country (compared to $64.2 billion in exports and $34.7 billion of imports in 2018)

China is among the main sources of foreign direct investment in Brazil, with a growing presence in strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy, particularly in power generation, oil extraction, telecommunications, financial services and  industry.

Financial cooperation has grown at bilateral and multilateral levels. Several Chinese banks operate in Brazil, and the Banco do Brasil (Bank of Brazil) has an agency in Shanghai since May 2014, the first agency of a Latin American bank in China.

Of particular interest is space cooperation. In 1988, the  China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite Program (CBERS) was established for the construction and launch of satellites, a pioneer project among developing countries in the high-tech field. Since the inception of the program, six  satellites have been launched (in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2013 and 2019).

Chronology of bilateral relations

1974 – Establishment of diplomatic relations (August)

1982 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramiro Saraiva Guerreiro visits China (March)

1984 – President João Baptista Figueiredo visits China (May)

1984 – Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian visits Brazil (August)

1985 – Premier Zhao Ziyang visits Brazil (November)

1988 – President José Sarney visits China (July)

1988 – The Brazil-China Earth Resources Satellite Program (CBERS) is established (July)

1990 – President Yang Shangkun visits Brazil (May)

1992 – Premier Li Peng visits Brazil (June)

1993 – State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen visits Brazil (March)

1993 – Premier Zhou Rongji visits Brazil. Establishment of the Brazil-China Strategic Partnership (May/June)

1993 – President Jiang Zemin visits Brazil (November)

1995 – President Fernando Henrique Cardoso visits China (December)

1995 – Brazil announces its support for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO)

1996 – Premier Li Peng visits Brazil (November)

1998 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Luiz Felipe Lampreia visits China (November)

1999 – Launching of the CBERS-1 satellite (October)

1999 – Vice President Marco Maciel visits China (December)

2000 – Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan visits Brazil (September)

2000 – China  becomes Brazil’s  largest trading partner in Asia

2001 – President Jiang Zemin visits Brazil (April)

2003 – Launching of the CBERS-2 satellite (October)

2004 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim visits China (February)

2004 – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visits China  (May)

2004 –  The Brazil-China High-Level Commission for Coordination and Cooperation (COSBAN) is established (May)

2004 – President Hu Jintao visits Brazil.

2006 – The First COSBAN meeting is held in Beijing, chaired by Vice President José Alencar on the Brazilian side and by Deputy Prime-Minister Mme Wu Yi on the Chinese side (March)

2006 – The Chairman of China’s National People’s Congress, Wu Bangguo, visits Brazil (August)

2007 – The Strategic Dialogue between Foreign Ministries is established (April)

2007 – Tthe CBERS-2B satellite is launched (September)

2007 – The first Brazil-China Strategic Dialogue Meeting is held in Beijing (November)

2008 – He Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, visits Brazil  (July)

2008 – President Lula da Silva visits China and attends the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics (August)

2009 – Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits Brazil (January)

2009 – Vice President Xi Jinping  visits Brazil  (February)

2009 – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva makes a state visit to China (May 19)

2009 – Hao Chiyong, Deputy Minister of the Supreme People's Court, visits Brazil (May)

2009 – The President of the Supreme Court, Gilmar Mendes, visits China (September)

2009 – The Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Jia Qinglin, visits Brazil (November)

2009 – China becomes Brazil's main trading partner

2010 – President Hu Jintao pays a State visit to Brazil and takes part in the 2nd BRICS Summit in Brasília. Signing of the Brazil-China Joint Action Plan 2010-2014 (April)

2010 – The Head Minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet, General Jorge Félix, visits China (April)

2010 – The Minister of Defense of China, General Liang Guanglie, visits Brazil (September)

2011 –  The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Antonio Patriota, visits China (March 3-4)

2011 –  President Dilma Rousseff makes a state visit to China and takes part  in the Brazil-China Business Seminar, at the Brazil-China High Level Dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation, and in the 3rd BRICS Summit, in Sanya (April 12-16) [Adopted Acts] [Sanya Declaration]

2011 – The Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, Chen Deming, visits Brazil (May 14-17)

2011 – Ministerial Meeting of Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) on Climate Change (Inhotim - MG, August 26-27)

2011 – Signing of the Brazil-China Joint Health Action Plan 2011-2014 (October)

2011 – President Dilma Rousseff and President Hu Jintao meet on the sidelines of the 6th G20 Summit, in Cannes, France  (December)

2012 – Second Meeting of the Brazil-China High-Level Commission for Coordination and Cooperation (COSBAN), chaired on the Brazilian side by Vice President Michel Temer and on the Chinese side by the Vice Premier  Wang Qishan (Brasília, February 13)

2012 – The Vice-Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Wang Zhaoguo, visits Brazil (March)

2012 – President Dilma Rousseff and President Hu Jintao meet on the sidelines of the 4th BRICS Summit, in New Delhi, India (March) [New Delhi Declaration]

2012 – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits Brazil and takes part in the Rio+20 Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro. Signing of the 2012-2021 10-Year Cooperation Plan. Bilateral relations are elevated to "Global Strategic Partnership" and the Foreign Ministers Global Strategic Dialogue is established (Rio de Janeiro, June 21)  [Adopted Documents] 

2012 – Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Hu Jintao meet on the sidelines of the 7th G20 Summit, in Los Cabos, Mexico (June)

2012 – The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Deputy Marco Maia, visits China (June)

2012 – Ministerial Meeting of Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) on Climate Change (Brasilia, September 20-21) 

2012 – The Vice Chairperson of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Ms. Zhang Meiying, visits Brazil (December)

2012 – China becomes the main importer of Brazilian products

2013 – President Dilma Rousseff and the Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the 5th BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa (March)

2013 – 3rd Meeting of Brazil-China Consultations on Migration and Consular Issues (Brasília, May 22)

2013 – Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Party, Guo Jinlong, visits Brazil (June)

2013 – Mission of the Minister Chief of the Civil Staff of the Presidency of Brazil, Gleisi Hoffmann, and of the Minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, Fernando Pimentel, to China (August)

2013 – The 16th Ministerial Meeting of Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) on Climate Change is held in Foz do Iguaçu ( September 15-16)

2013 – President Dilma Rousseff with and the President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of  the 8th G20 Summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia (September)

2013 – Month of Brazil in China (September) and of China in Brazil (October)

2013 – Vice President Michel Temer makes an official visit to China: he  participates in the opening ceremony of the 4th Ministerial Conference of the Macau Forum and in the third COSBAN Meeting, in Guangzhou, and meets with President Xi Jinping and Vice President Li Yuanchao (November 4-9)

2013 – The  CBERS-3 satellite is launched (December)

2014 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi visits Brazil. The First Meeting of the Global Strategic Dialogue is held (April 25)

2014 – The President of the House of Representatives, Henrique Alves,  makes an official visit to China (April)

2014 – President Xi Jinping makes a State visit to  Brazil and takes part  in the 6th BRICS Summit (Fortaleza and Brasilia, July 15-17) 

2014 – Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Xi Jinping  meet on the sidelines of  the 9th G20 Summit, in Brisbane, Australia (November)

2014 – The  CBERS-4 satellite is launched (December)

2015 – Vice President Li Yuanchao visits Brazil to take part in the inauguration ceremony of the President of the Republic (January 2)

2015 –  Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira visits China to take part in the First Ministerial Meeting of the CELAC-China Forum, in Beijing (January 8-9) [Adopted Documents]

2015 – The President of the Supreme Court, Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, visits China (March/April)

2015 – The Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Keqiang, visits Brazil (Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, May 18-21)[Adopted Acts]

2015 – The Second Brazil-China High-Level Dialogue on Science,Technology and Innovation is held in Brasília (June 19)

2015 – Vice Premier Wang Yang visits Brazil. The Fourth Plenary Session of the Brazil-China High-Level Commission for Coordination and Cooperation  is held (June 26)

2015 – The 20th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change is held in New York (June 28)

2015 – Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the 7th BRICS Summit (July)

2015 – Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs in New York, on the sidelines of the 70th Annual Session of the United Nations General Assembly (September 29)

2015 – The  President of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), Minister Francisco Falcão, visits China (October/November)

2015 – Meeting of the BRICS Leaders in Antalya, Turkey, on the sidelines of  the G20 Summit (November 15)

2015 – Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the  COP 21 (November)

2016 – Minister of Finance Nelson Barbosa visits China (February)

2016 – The 22nd BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change is held  (New Delhi, April 7)

2016 – The President of the Republic, Michel Temer, visits Shanghai to take part in the Brazil-China High-Level Business Seminar (September 2)

2016 – The 11th G20 Leaders Summit is held in Hangzhou, China (September 4-5)

2016 – The 23rd BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change is held in Morroco (October 17)

2017 – The 24th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change is held in Beijing (April 11)

2017 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Aloysio Nunes Ferreira visits China (Beijing, June 16)

2017 – Meeting of the BRICS Foreign Affairs Ministers is held in Beijing (June 18-19) [Joint statement]

2017 – Informal meeting of BRICS leaders is held on the occasion of the G20 Summit (Hamburg, Germany, July 7) [Press release]

2017 – President Michel Temer makes a State visit to China (September 1st)

2017 – Summit of BRICS leaders is held in Xiamen, China (September 3-5) [Xiamen Declaration]

2017 – The 4th Meeting of the Science, Technology & Innovation Subcommittee of the Brazil-China High-Level Commission for Coordination and Cooperation  (COSBAN) is held in Brasilia (September 5)

2017 – Meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly  (New York, September 21)

2017 – The 25th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change is held in Bonn, Germany ( November 13) [Joint Statement]

2018 – The Secretary General of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Marcos Galvão, takes part  in the 2nd Meeting of the CELAC-China Forum (Santiago, January 22)

2018 – Signing of the agreement on the establishment of the NDB Americas Regional Office in São Paulo (July 26)

2018 – Meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers – Press release (New York, September 27)

2018 – Brazil participates in the Shanghai International Import Expo, (November 5-10)

2019 – Vice President Hamilton Mourão visits China. Fifth COSBAN Plenary Session (May 23)

2019 – The Third Meeting of the Global Strategic Dialogue is held in Brasília (July 25)

2019 – Celebration of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Brazil and the People’s Republic of China (August 15)

2019 – President Jair Bolsonaro makes a State visit to China (October 24-26)

2019 – President Xi Jinping visits Brazil on the occasion of the 11th BRICS Summit (November 13-14)

2019 – The CBERS 4-A satellite is launched (December)

2020 – Phone call between the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, and the President of China, Xi Jinping (3/24)

2021 – Videoconference between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos França, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Yi (10/21)

2022 – The 6th  COSBAN Plenary Session is held virtually ( 5/23)

2023 – Visit of Vice President Wang Qishan to Brazil, to take part in the inauguration ceremonies of the President of the Republic (12/31/2022 to 1/2/2023)

2023 – State visit of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to China (12 to 15/4)