Brazilian officials have lauded the deepening cultural partnership with China during an event held in Brasilia on Wednesday to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations, coinciding with Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Brazil.
The year 2024 marks another milestone in bilateral ties between China and Brazil, bringing their relationship under renewed global focus as President Xi is paying a state visit to the Latin American country after he attended the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. During a meeting on Wednesday, Xi and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, announced the elevation of China-Brazil relations to a community with a shared future for a more just world and a more sustainable planet.
The cultural and people-to-people exchange event, co-organized by state-owned China Media Group (CMG) and Brazil Communication Company (EBC), further highlighted the growing bilateral collaboration.
Senior Brazilian officials, including Minister of Social Communication Paulo Pimenta and Minister of Culture Margareth Menezes as well as EBC President Jean Lima, attended the event and stressed the importance of forging closer ties.
Pimenta described Xi's visit as a turning point in Brazil's reintegration into the global community.
"I believe this (Xi's state visit) is a very important step in this new moment that Brazil is living. For many years, Brazil was on the sidelines of the international community. Under President Lula’s leadership, Brazil is strongly reentering the global stage and inviting the world back to Brazil. China is our main trading partner. President Lula visited China, and we were waiting for this visit to happen. From now on, a new phase begins," he said.
Menezes commended the cultural agreements struck between China and Brazil during the G20 Summit, highlighting the extensive economic opportunities that can arise from deepening bilateral collaboration.
"We see a vast area for generating employment, income, and creative economy. We are working on all aspects (of the relationship with China), and politically, it also becomes much stronger. We recently held the G20 here, with other presidents, where a declaration in the cultural sphere was signed. We also had the meeting of Culture Ministers in Salvador, where we managed to consolidate another declaration. I believe all this demonstrates Brazil's potential in terms of representativeness, under the leadership of our president, Lula," said Menezes.
Lima focused on the value of media collaboration in strengthening cultural and technological ties. "The partnership between the EBC and China Media Group is very important for the people because it involves technological and cultural exchange. It's a great opportunity to showcase Brazilian tourism, cuisine, and cultural content in China while also receiving content produced there," he said.
Brazilian officials celebrate strengthening cultural ties with China
