Xi's Brazil visit to usher in most important meeting since establishment of diplomatic relations: Lula

Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Brazil may usher in a most important meeting since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Brazil and China, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a recent interview with China Central Television in Brasilia.

After attending the the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru on Friday and Saturday and completing his ongoing state visit to Peru, Xi will travel to Rio de Janeiro to attend the 19th G20 Summit and pay a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of Lula da Silva from Nov 17 to 21.

In the interview prior to Xi's Brazil visit, Lula said that Brazil is looking forward to strengthening bilateral ties with China as Brazil is gradually recovering in various aspects.

"Speaking of Brazil, I think Brazil is finding itself. Two years ago, Brazil was almost destroyed, and we had a very difficult recovery process. But now we have bounced back, the economy is growing, employment is on the rise, wages are increasing, and we are reclaiming our culture. We have established ministries for indigenous peoples, racial equality and women," said Lula.

"We are vigorously developing Brazil's industry, and I believe Brazil is doing well now. We are currently at a crucial juncture of ecological and energy transformation. So I am very happy. I am very pleased with the partnership between Brazil and China. I think it is very important that President Xi Jinping attends the G20 Rio Summit. We will also hold significant bilateral meetings to discuss establishing a long-term strategic partnership," said Lula.

As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Brazil, the Brazilian president said that Brazil is ready to work with China to reinforce their "extraordinary partnership."

"I think this meeting may be the most important meeting since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Brazil and China. We share common ideals. China is the most extraordinary country in Asia, while Brazil is the largest country in Latin America. We have many similarities, and we hope to learn from each other in our respective areas of expertise. This visit will show the extraordinary partnership between Brazil and China, and we will continue to deepen the relationship between the two countries," said Lula.

Xi's Brazil visit to usher in most important meeting since establishment of diplomatic relations: Lula

China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-8 has successfully delivered supplies to the orbiting Tiangong space station.

The Long March-7 Y9 rocket carrying the spacecraft blasted off at 23:13 Beijing Time (1513 GMT) on Friday from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan.

After about 10 minutes, the Tianzhou-8 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels then unfolded.

"Overcoming various unfavorable factors, our team has achieved complete success in this mission, reflecting our rich experience and the capabilities of the equipment, facilities and personnel of the launch site for all missions," said Zhang Nan, commander of the launch mission.

At 02:32 Beijing Time (18:32 GMT) on Saturday, about three hours after the launch, the Tianzhou-8 cargo craft autonomously docked at the rear docking port of the space station's core module Tianhe.

"Rendezvous and docking three hours after launch is faster, convenient and safer compared with other approaches. So it will be the main rendezvous approach for future cargo craft missions. The Tianzhou-8 has a much larger loading capacity than Tianzhou-7. It mainly transports some time-sensitive cargo that can provide strong technical support for the orbiting space station's scientific experiments," said Feng Yong from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Friday's launch is the third cargo delivery mission since China's manned space program entered the space station's application and development stage.

The Tianzhou-8 spacecraft carried approximately six tons of supplies, including living necessities for astronauts, propellant, and 485 kilograms of scientific experiment materials.

Notably, the 'lunar soil brick', created by Chinese scientists to simulate the composition of lunar soil, is also aboard Tianzhou-8 for space exposure experiments aimed at confirming whether the 'brick' can be used to construct houses on the moon.

There is also a unique species -- fruit flies -- among the scientific experiment payloads carried by Tianzhou-8. They are expected to help complete the country's first space sub-magnetic-microgravity composite environment science experiment.

Afterwards, the Shenzhou-19 crew, which was sent into the space station on October 30, will enter the cargo craft and transfer the items as scheduled.

China’s Tianzhou-8 cargo craft successfully delivers supplies to space station