Fri, June 22, 2012
RIO DE JANEIRO, June 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Brazil issued a joint statement here Thursday, pledging to upgrade their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and enhance bilateral cooperation in various areas.
During their meeting here Thursday, both Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff emphasized that the decision to upgrade the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership reflected the increasing importance of the two countries in the world in the globalization era, according to the statement.
Against the backdrop of profound changes in the current world, the two countries would have cooperation in more fields, they said.
The two sides will launch a comprehensive strategic dialogue mechanism at the level of foreign ministers for at least once in a year.
During Premier Wen's visit to Brazil, the two sides signed a ten-year cooperation plan, which will direct bilateral cooperation in such fields as technological innovation, space, energy, minerals, infrastructure, investment, finance, industry, trade, education and cultural exchange over the next ten years.
Both Premier Wen and President Rousseff announced that the two countries will make concerted efforts to pursue the launch of the Satellite 03 of the China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellite series this year and Satellite 04 in 2014, the statement said, adding that discussion on a "10-year space cooperation plan" will also be put on agenda.
While agreeing that boosting trade and promoting investment are mutually beneficial, Wen and Rousseff reaffirmed that both sides are willing to solve trade frictions through friendly consultations and dialogue and jointly fight trade protectionism.
China has been Brazil's largest trading partner for the past three years, with the two-way trade volume exceeding 80 billion U.S. dollars in 2011.
The two countries will establish a currency exchange mechanism, the statement said.
The two leaders also shared their views on major international issues and both agreed that the United Nations (UN) should play a core role in peacefully resolving the conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.
Turning to Syria, both leaders called for an immediate end to violence, and urged concerned parties to open political dialogue so as to peacefully resolve the crisis. They also reiterated support to the six-point peace plan on Syria tabled by joint UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan.
They stated that global governance institutions need to undergo reforms to better adapt to a new international order and face new challenges.
The statement also included a series of initiatives related to the cultural exchanges between the two countries.
More Brazilian students and scholars will visit China, Rousseff said, while Wen promised that China will offer government scholarship to 200 Brazilian students each year and write off their tuition.
