Photo: Wang Yi. Source: Flickr
China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, is set to visit Brazil and Jamaica on official state visits in order to strengthen mutual political trust and cooperation with strategic partners on various issues. Yi will arrive in the region on January 25 to begin his state visits.
These trips are part of the Minister’s agenda for 2024, which began with his visit to four African countries between January 13 and 18. Wang visited Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Ivory Coast from January 13 to 18 in order to promote the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be held this year and organized by China, according to spokeswoman Mao Ning, quoted in Prensa Latina.
On the other hand, some analysts believe that these trips and forums promoted by the Chinese nation respond to the growing geopolitical risks and the need to strengthen mutual trust with high-level plans and meetings during this year, especially with the nations of the Global South, as a healthy, stable and sustainable political force in the International System, according to the Chinese media People’s Daily.
This year is important for China-Brazil relations, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as the five-year anniversary of the China-Jamaica Strategic Partnership. However, it is expected that Latin America and the Caribbean in general will be key to Chinese cooperation.
China has been Brazil’s largest trading partner since 2009 as well as one of the most important sources of foreign investment in the nation, whose trade last year reached a record US$157.5 billion, with Brazilian exports of US$104.3 billion and imports of US$53.2 billion.
Trade between Latin America’s largest economy and Asia’s largest economy has been on the rise since the two agreed to a Strategic Partnership in 1993. In 2012 it was upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
It is important to recall the April 2023 visit to China by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, where the two sides signed several bilateral cooperation documents covering trade and investment, digital economy, and information and telecommunications.
However, it is also worth remembering that Brazil this year will assume the presidency of the G20 and is an important member of the BRICS.
As for the case of Jamaica, since 2019 when Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, it was agreed to elevate between the two countries a friendly strategic partnership, which according to the Chinese media Xinhua included issues on the Belt and Road, Chinese investment opportunities in Jamaica and the import of Jamaican products in China.
Main source:
Wang Yi inicia viaje a América Latina después de sus “visitas de año nuevo” en África | Diario del Pueblo. (2024, Enero 19). http://spanish.peopledaily.com.cn/n3/2024/0119/c31621-20124275.html
Other related sources:
Cancilleres de Brasil y China sostendrán reunión bilateral | TelersurTV (2024, Enero 18). https://www.telesurtv.net/news/cancilleres-brasil-china-sostendran-reunion-bilateral-20240118-0030.html
Los cancilleres de Brasil y China se reunirán para elevar el comercio | EFE (2024, Enero 17). https://efe.com/economia/2024-01-17/los-cancilleres-de-brasil-y-china-se-reuniran-en-brasilia-para-impulsar-el-comercio/
Canciller chino realizará gira por países de África, Brasil y Jamaica | Prensa Latina (2024, Enero 11). https://www.prensa-latina.cu/2024/01/11/canciller-chino-realizara-gira-por-paises-de-africa-brasil-y-jamaica
Xi se reúne con primer ministro de Jamaica | Xinhuanet (2019, Noviembre 4). https://www.prensa-latina.cu/2024/01/11/canciller-chino-realizara-gira-por-paises-de-africa-brasil-y-jamaica