Bolsonaro to Travel to Japan and China to Encourage Trade and Seek Investment

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a week’s time, President Jair Bolsonaro will begin an official visit to Japan and China with the aim of strengthening trade with these two global economic leading nations and signaling to the world that Brazil is committed to economic openness, the business environment, and the reform program, said Itamaraty’s secretary of bilateral negotiations in Asia, the Pacific, and Russia, Ambassador Reinaldo José de Almeida Salgado.

Together, Japan and China have at least US$100 billion (R$400 billion) in investments in Brazil. Asia leads Brazilian exports and imports. In the first nine months of 2019 alone, 40 percent of Brazilian exports were directed to the region, while 33 percent of Brazilian imports came from Asia.

President Bolsonaro’s visit will begin in Japan. The Brazilian president’s program includes Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony on October 22nd, followed by a banquet offered to presidents by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on October 23rd. On the same day, Bolsonaro will hold a meeting with members of the group of notables, consisting of the leaders of Japan’s main companies.

Trade Agreement

According to Almeida Salgado, both Brazil and Japan are interested in resuming the dynamics of bilateral trade. The two countries, along with the other Mercosur members, also plan to start negotiations soon for the signing of a trade agreement between Mercosur countries and Japan.

According to Ambassador Almeida Salgado, trade between the two countries totaled US$7 billion from January to September this year, representing a 15 percent growth. “It’s not bad. What is bad is that this number is declining [in recent years],” he said. In 2011, bilateral trade figures were twice as high as today’s, he said.

For Ambassador Almeida Salgado, Japan, which before was not a country favorable to trade agreements, is now also favorable to seeking negotiation with Brazil. As he said, estimates by Japanese consultancies point out that, from Japan’s perspective, the European Union-Mercosur agreement weakens the Japanese export market. According to these studies, 97 percent of European Union exports to Brazil are products that are currently exported by Japan to the Brazilian market.

China

The Brazilian president will travel from Japan to China. In China, Bolsonaro will meet with officials from Asian countries on October 24th and 25th. The visit to China will be a follow-up to an intensive agenda of mutual visits by the two countries’ officials, said the ambassador.

In addition to Brazilian ministers who visited China and Chinese authorities who came to Brazil, the ambassador mentioned the visit of Vice President Hamilton Mourão to the Asian country in May. He recalled that the vice-president co-chaired a high-level Sino-Brazilian bilateral commission and coordinated the activities of 12 subcommittees.

“President Bolsonaro’s visit celebrates 45 years of Brazil-China diplomatic relations,” said Ambassador Almeida Salgado. According to him, there will be a meeting between Brazilians and Chinese entrepreneurs sponsored by Apex-Brasil, the body promoting Brazilian exports. The diplomat said that the expansion of Brazilian exports to China and the remainder of the Asian continent is carried out through these meetings, which help to eliminate obstacles to exports and attract investment.

Source: Agência Brasil