With the year 2024 marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil, Brazil opened its third Consulate General on the Chinese mainland in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on June 27.
Marcos Galvão, the Brazilian Ambassador to China (6th from right), poses for a group photo at the opening ceremony in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on June 27. Photo: Courtesy of the Brazilian Embassy in China
In his keynote speech, Marcos Galvão, the Brazilian Ambassador to China, said that the opening of the Consulate General of Brazil in Chengdu is of particular significance and is expected to play a key role in further deepening cooperation between the two countries.
Cézar Amaral assumed the role as the first consul-general of Brazil in Chengdu.
Before the opening ceremony, Galvão held talks with Wang Xiaohui, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Sichuan Provincial Committee.
In an interview, Ambassador Galvão said, "We're absolutely fascinated with the [Chengdu] city and with the [Sichuan] province, with everything we saw. And we had heard that this was the happiest city in China."
He also said that "Brazil is one of China's largest trading partners today and has been for some time, China is Brazil's largest trading partner. There is a lot of investment from Chinese companies going into Brazil. We are the number one provider of agricultural products to China. Twenty five percent of all agricultural products that China bought from the whole world came from Brazil."
"Sichuan is a very strong agricultural province, so this is something that we can share information on it because we both have strong competitive agricultural sectors. So this is also a priority for us that we can share knowledge, and that we can share science and technology. One of the first cooperation projects we established with China was back in 1988 in the construction and joint launching of satellites," said Galvão.
Talking about Brazil's further plans for cooperation with China, Galvão said, "I think that the areas that need to be strengthened are exactly what I mentioned: Science and technology, and more investment in the industry. This is happening from some companies in China that are going to Brazil now to invest in energy, electricity, oil, and gas, electric vehicles, electric buses, construction of batteries. Almost half of all the Chinese investment today is in electricity and clean energy by the way. We are very strong in terms of clean energy, energy transition and also water."
He also shared his optimistic view on the future of China's economy and its contributions to global economic recovery.
"It's important for the global economy that China continues to grow at a strong pace. China has been contributing in this sense to world growth for some time now. So it's positive for the world economy that China continues to grow," he said.