Top legislator Wu Bangguo finished on Sunday his six-day official visit to Brazil, which represented a step further in the consolidation of the two countries strategic alliance.

 

The visit marked the continuation of the process initiated in 2004, when, at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, President Hu Jintao and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva exchanged state visits and vowed to strengthen the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

 

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), visited the cities of Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Manaus. In the Brazilian capital, he was welcomed by President Lula and the top authorities of the Brazilian Congress, the President of the House of Representatives Aldo Rebelo and the President of the Senate Renan Calheiros.

 

On Wednesday, an agreement on the exchange of information between the House of Representatives and China's NPC was signed, the first accord of its kind China has signed with a Latin American country. When he talked about the friendly links between the two nations, Representative Rebelo stressed China's contribution to keep the balance of the world that tends towards a unilateral approach.

 

In Rebelos words, China and Brazil can significantly help their own people, but they can together help even more, the whole humanity.

 

Rebelo said he favors a broader bilateral cooperation, which must not be confined to the diplomatic field and must be extended to all levels, institutions and organizations of the society.

 

Wu and Calheiros had a meeting, in which they stressed the two countries cooperates with each other on major world issues.

 

The NPC president said both Brazil and China are advocating protecting the interests of countries in development. The two countries, he added, favor the democratization of world relations and the construction of a world with several poles, where the cultural diversity is respected.

 

The technical and scientific cooperation between Brazil and China, Wu said, is a bright spot of their bilateral relation. He mentioned the launching of two binational satellites and said the countries will continue their cooperation in the space program field.

 

On Wednesday afternoon, at a meeting with President Lula in Palacio do Planalto, the headquarters of the Brazilian government, the two countries signed an agreement under which China will buy 100 jets of Brazilian Embraer.

 

The deal between Embraer and Chinese group HNA amounts to some US$2.7 billion. The delivery of the jets will begin next year and last for five years.

 

Other four agreements between Brazilian and Chinese companies were also signed, relating to the aviation, telephony and infrastructure sectors. One of these deals was also signed by Embraer that extended its joint-venture with Chinese Avic II.

 

Wu had a meeting on Friday with Latin American Parliaments President Ney Lopes, in Sao Paulo. During the meeting, Lopes stressed the Latin American Parliament and himself favor the one-China policy and oppose the independence of Taiwan.

 

The decision of the Latin American Parliament in 2004 to grant the NPC observer status, he said, was an important step.

 

From Sao Paulo, Wu traveled to the city of Manaus, capital of the Brazilian State of Amazonas, in which China has important investments.

 

The Amazonas state Governor Eduardo Braga expressed his hope that the visit of Wu will boost the bilateral cooperation in the electronics, lumber, petro chemical and tourist sectors.

 

Wu left Manaus for Uruguay for a three-day visit, and he will then go to Chile, the last leg of his South American tour.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2006)