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Silva opens Brazil studies center in Beijing

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-19 15:16

BEIJING - Brazil's president inaugurated a Brazilian studies center Tuesday in China's capital during a visit focused on boosting ties between the two large developing nations, which are demanding a greater say in the global financial order.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, due to meet later Tuesday with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and other top leaders, also presided over a business forum highlighting the rapid growth in bilateral trade and investment.

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Talks were expected to focus on expanding ties, as well as the use of renewable fuels, the prevention of global protectionism and the continuing economic crisis.

Before departing Wednesday, Silva also was scheduled to visit the Chinese Aerospace Technology Agency to underscore cooperation and competition between the two nations. China builds a licensed version of Brazil's Embraer passenger jets, but also produces its own rival aircraft.

Silva's visit comes amid efforts by the leftist president to shore up relations with Russia, India and China - which along with Brazil make up the so-called BRIC nations that have been driving much of the growth among emerging economies.

The countries have demanded a bigger role in negotiations to create a new global financial order in a major challenge to the so-far unrivaled authority of the West and Japan.

In an editorial in Tuesday's China Daily, Silva said emerging economies like Brazil and China had a responsibility to help build a "more just and fair international order."

The two nations should be "fully aware of Brazil's and China's shared responsibility to help bring about the fundamental reforms in global governance that the world so urgently needs," Silva wrote.

The president gave no details, although he said in a magazine interview last week that China and Brazil should conduct their trade in their own currencies instead of the dollar. Silva says doing so would reduce transaction costs for both exporters and importers, especially those operating on a smaller scale. Brazil and Argentina have already agreed to trade with each other using their own currencies.

Brazil announced earlier this month that China had topped the U.S. as its most important trading partner, with total bilateral trade in the first four months of the year up 13.9 percent from the same period last year to $10.2 billion.

Stronger Brazil-China ties have been emphasized by increased exchanges, with Silva meeting with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping during Xi's visit to Brasilia earlier this year. Talks at that time yielded an agreement in which Brazil would supply up to 100 million barrels of crude oil a day to China in exchange for a loan of up to $10 billion.

Silva has said he hopes during his visit to sign agreements in banking, ports, infrastructure projects and the fight against transnational crime. The Chinese Foreign Ministry had no details of such agreements on Monday.