Brazilian Ambassador Luiz Augusto De Castro Neves

The mini-Olympics style event, which attracted some 2,500 competitors from American communities worldwide, was held successfully in Rio de Janeiro from July 13 to 29, providing experience that Beijing could share, said Ambassador Luiz Augusto De Castro Neves.

"I think Beijing has been preparing well for the Olympic Games," said Neves, who has been in Beijing for three years and been witness to some Games facilities under construction, such as the big swimming pool and the "bird's nest" - the national stadium for the Games.

"Hundreds upon hundreds of Brazilian athletes will take part in the Beijing Olympics," said the ambassador, adding that the Brazilian football, volleyball and beach volleyball teams, as well as its swimmers, could well be some of the main players in the event.

Although Neves jokingly said that he might prefer to watch the football matches of the Games on TV for the comfort factor, he praised Beijing and China's efforts in gearing up for the Olympics, while noting that: "The Games should be just a sports event instead of being linked with any political objectives."

Emerging opportunities

The 2008 Olympic Games, as well as the "emerging presence of China in Brazil", are the reasons why more and more Brazilians are expressing increased curiosity about the country, Neves said.

Brazil is currently China's largest trading partner in Latin America while China is its third largest trading partner. In 2006, bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded $20 billion. A growing number of Chinese companies are investing in Brazil, and many Brazilians are becoming familiar with Chinese goods.

"Chinese goods are improving," said Neves. "I remember Japanese goods in the 1950s were very cheap in Brazil and were often criticized for lower quality than US products. But Japanese electronics products are now very good. It is a process of perfecting and improving. It is the same in the Brazilian car industry. The manufacturers should meet the quality standards and expectations of the consumers."

The ambassador said that talks about further economic cooperation and exchanges are underway between the two nations.

Between 3,000 and 5,000 Brazilians are now working at Brazilian enterprises or other international companies based in China.

The two countries are also cooperating in the production of mobile phones and air conditioners. "Interestingly, Brazilian pilots are employed by Chinese airlines, such as Air Macao and Shenzhen Airlines, which have recently hired 15 new captain pilots from Brazil," he said.

Neves also showed models of the EKJ145 and ERJ190-200, saying the two kinds of aircraft made in Harbin were co-produced by China and Brazil, and 50 of each kind had been sold to Hainan Airlines.

A satellite made in Brazil would be brought to China to be sent out in mid-October, Neves said, expressing his appreciation for China's sophisticated high technology.

Dismissing some nations' fears about a rising Chinese economy, the ambassador said he considered a rising China to be a dynamic force in the world economy.

"The current economy is driven by market forces, so there will be losers and winners. A rising China will bring forth opportunities for some countries and challenges for others. The key point is how to face China's challenges and transform them into opportunities."

He said he did not think Brazil's friendship with China would harm his country's relations with other nations like the US or Russia.

"We won't improve our relations with one country at the expense of relations with another. We will extensively improve our relations with all countries including China, without harming relations with others," the ambassador asserted.

However, the ambassador didn't take political relations with Taiwan into consideration, despite Brazil being the biggest Latin American trade partner of both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan Province.

"We have always insisted on the One China Policy. Despite our commercial relations with Taiwan Island, we don't see it as a country," he emphasized.

Mutual understanding

"We are very far away from each other. Each is on the other side of the world," said Neves, pointing out that the huge geographical distance was sometimes a hindrance to the two peoples' attempts to learn more about each other.

"But the emergence of China is a new phenomenon," noted Neves.

Internet and cable TV have enabled Brazilians to learn about China from different reports and programs. Neves illustrated with his own experience: after a TV program about China's inauguration of the new train line to Lhasa was aired in Brazil, he was asked about Tibet when he returned to his country.

Furthermore, Brazilians are becoming increasingly curious about cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and about the lives of the growing number of Brazilian businessmen in China.

Direct flights between Beijing and Sao Paulo twice a week indicate strong movement between the two countries, the ambassador said, adding that the 1,500 visas issued by the Brazilian embassy every month also illustrated China's growing interest in the far-off nation.

Chinese interest in Brazilian films is also exceeding his expectations, said Neves. "The signs of growing Chinese interest in Brazil are very encouraging."

Tickets for a Brazilian film festival held a few months ago in Shanghai and Beijing were quickly sold out, forcing organizers to move the event to a bigger theater. But that was packed to capacity as well, with some people even sitting on the floor, said Neves.

Besides cultural exchange, the ambassador said China and Brazil could in fact learn from each other's experiences as two large developing countries with similar problems or common challenges, such as social welfare, wealth gap and global climate change.

All kinds of meetings, seminars and working groups are being arranged for the sharing of experience on ways to solve these problems, and related departments maintain contact for further study, he said.

Responding to criticism from some developed countries regarding inadequate environmental protection by the developing world, Neves said it was irrational to criticize Brazil for failing to provide total protection to its Amazon rain forests.

"The Amazon forest is the largest rain forest in the world, and it used to cover the whole of the US where the forests have disappeared," he pointed out.

He said Beijing is giving more and more emphasis to the environmental protection. "In Brazil, the best example is the city of Cubatao, in the State of Sao Paulo, where we have been able to control pollution by moving factories out of the city," he pointed out.

"I think China is aware that environmental protection is the key to continued economic growth and has taken steps to do so," Neves said.

(China Daily 09/07/2007 page25)