On 3 December 2024, Marcos Galvão, Ambassador of Brazil to China, visited the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China (RDCY), and delivered a keynote speech titled the G20 Summit in Rio and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Visit to Brazil at the RDCY Forum for Area Studies, Ambassador Series. Zheng Xinye, Vice President of Renmin University of China (RUC) and Executive Director of RDCY, delivered a welcoming remark, while Wang Wen, Dean of RDCY, presided over the entire event.

In his opening speech, Vice President Zheng Xinye said that the year 2024 is of historic significance for China-Brazil relations, with the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. In November, during President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Brazil, the two sides signed a series of important cooperation documents. China-Brazil relations have entered a new “Golden 50 Years”, and the future prospects of bilateral cooperation are even broader. Renmin University of China wishes to take practical actions to strengthen cooperation with Brazil in education, humanities and other aspects; hopes more Brazilian students to come and study in RUC, more RUC students to go to Brazil for exchange programs; and expects more in-depth cooperation with Brazilian academics. Renmin University of China is willing to actively promote the joint establishment of China-Brazil Centre on Civilization Exchange and Cooperation with Brazilian universities, so as to build more and more bridges for exchanges and mutual learning.

In his speech, Ambassador Marcos Galvão made a detailed review of the history of the G20 Summits. In particular, he emphasized the significant impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on global politics, economy and ideology, which has enabled emerging countries and economies to learn to make better use of historical opportunities to develop themselves, and also has made the G20 more influential. Ambassador Marcos Galvão elaborated on the reasons why the G20 Rio Summit had chosen Social Inclusion and Fight Against Hunger and Poverty, Sustainable Development, Energy Transition and Climate Action, and Reform of Global Governance as its main topics. He pointed out that China and Brazil are both world powers in terms of territory population and economic scale, and need to work together to deepen the reform of global governance on the G20 platform, so as to make the G20 more effective, inclusive and constructive.Ambassador Marcos Galvão has also dived into the past and the future of China-Brazil relations. He reviewed the historical process of deepening mutual cooperation and trust between the two countries over the past 50 years from 1974 to the present. He pointed out that despite the differences in culture, development history and political systems between China and Brazil, as well as ups and downs in terms of the bilateral relationship, the current relation is very solid, and both sides wish to elevate the bilateral relationship to a new level. Brazil hopes that China-Brazil relations will remain robust and sustainable in the long term, and the bilateral cooperation could be based on mutual trust and respect, lead to more accessible results, create more jobs, foods, goods, and services for each other, and bring a better life to the people of both countries. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s visit to China in April 2023 has already injected new energy into Sino-Brazilian relations. During President Xi’s state visit to Brazil in 2024, the two sides adopted an important cooperation plan that combines the Belt and Road Initiative with Brazil’s Growth Acceleration Program, New Industrial Policy Plan, Ecological Transformation Plan and other development projects, further deepening bilateral relations and cooperation.Ambassador Marcos Galvão highlighted the strong performance of Sino-Brazilian trade in recent years and his confidence in the potential for further deeper bilateral cooperation. In 2023, approximately one-quarter of China’s agricultural imports came from Brazil. At the same time, Brazil is an important market for many Chinese companies such as those in automobile, machinery, and electric power etc., increasingly importing high-tech products from China. He hoped that Sino-Brazilian trade should become greener and more sustainable, with stronger efforts to develop renewable energy and enhance Brazil’s power grid infrastructure. He also emphasized that Brazil will never mix normal trade with politics. In his opinion, “nearshoring” or “friendshoring” of supply chain cannot ensure sustainable trade relations between countries. Instead, the key to success lies in “trustshoring”. This requires not only political commitments between governments but also reliable products from the business sector and accurate analysis and insights from academia and think tanks. Ultimately, it is the mutual exchange and trust between the peoples of both countries that will drive deeper cooperation.In the final part of his speech, Ambassador Marcos Galvão stressed that a limiting factor in Sino-Brazilian relationship is that we know very little about each other. He encouraged young people from both countries to continue their efforts in enhancing communication, sharing information, and building trust, which will bring more opportunities and a brighter future for both nations.During the Q&A session, Ambassador Marcos Galvão engaged in a lively interaction with the audience. He mentioned that he was impressed by rapid development and diversity of China, and China’s effort on poverty alleviation, etc. Regarding the role of BRICS in Sino-Brazilian relations, he emphasized that BRICS cooperation has played a positive role, like in strengthening financial ties between China and Brazil. As the host of the 2025 BRICS Summit and COP30, Brazil hopes to work with China together through the BRICS mechanism to better address the current global crises and challenges. Regarding Chinese investment in Brazil, he said that Brazil welcomed more Chinese companies to invest in the country, expecting Chinese enterprises to locate more research and development resources to the nation besides assembly, which would help improve Brazil’s industrial capabilities.

Wang Wen, introduced RDCY’s latest research report titled Toward a “New Golden Fifty Years”: An Outlook on China-Brazil Relations Based on Think Tank Field Research. He thanked Ambassador Marcos Galvão for sharing firsthand information following President Xi Jinping’s visit to Brazil and expressed hope that Sino-Brazilian relations would achieve even greater success with the continued efforts of both sides. The RDCY Forum for Area Studies, Ambassador Series is a key project of RDCY, aiming at providing a high-level platform for foreign diplomats and Chinese political, economic, academic, and research professionals to engage in multi-dimensional interactions and deepen mutual understanding in the fields of diplomacy, economics, and culture. In the future, RDCY will invite more ambassadors from countries including Spain, Switzerland, Peru, Slovenia, Jordan, and Myanmar to give lectures. Stay tuned!