The presence of Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan, as a special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the inauguration ceremony of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia on Sunday speaks volumes about the great significance China attaches to relations with Brazil.
In the congratulatory message he sent, President Xi expressed China's willingness to expand and upgrade its cooperation with Brazil. To which the Brazilian leader, a long-term advocate of developing Sino-Brazilian relations, tweeted: "China is our biggest trading partner and we can further expand relations between our countries."
Along with the positive attitude he has unequivocally expressed since winning the October election, this is another good sign that he will look to further boost the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership and bring it to new heights.
That Argentina, China and the United States are the first three countries he plans to visit in the first three months of his presidency, and his stressing of the European Union's strategic importance to Brazil's economy and trade, indicate that his government will pursue balanced diplomacy and seek to maintain the country's independence as a major player on the world stage.
That's also what the world expects from the veteran statesman who emphasized unity and rebuilding in his inauguration speech. Although neither is an easy task, as long as the Lula government adheres to its rational and balanced development and diplomacy models, it can stay clear from the either-or choice the US is trying to enforce upon other countries, and continuously accumulate favorable factors to inject more positive energy into socioeconomic development by expanding and deepening win-win cooperation with various sides in the world.
The cooperation between the two largest developing countries in the Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere will deliver more concrete benefits for both countries and peoples. Their bilateral trade volume was $164 billion in 2021, up 36.2 percent from the previous year, and they can further upgrade the current trade and cooperation model that is dominated by exports of and collaboration in natural resources, primary industrial products and basic life necessities to in-depth cooperation in aerospace, information technology, biotechnology, agricultural technologies as well as medicine and health.
Amid the global uncertainties and volatility, the strengthening of China-Brazil relations can help promote regional and global peace, stability and prosperity, as it sets a good model for other emerging market economies to strengthen their mutual trust, strategic coordination and win-win cooperation, which accords with their common aspirations and interests.