China’s Communist government seeks to use friendly relations with socialist Brazil’s government to establish a ‘Maritime Silk Road’ in the Amazon rainforest, Argentine news agency Infobae report this weekend.
Infobay said in a report that China’s “Amazon Silk Road” plan calls for Chinese state-owned enterprises to establish trade routes and commerce in the Amazon rainforest region, exploit the region’s rich natural resources, and protect the environment. There are growing concerns about the impact on forests and the potential for deforestation. .
According to Infobay, the plan allows for “unprecedented geopolitical and economic expansion” in the region as part of China’s “vision of a new multipolar world order” promoted by both Beijing and Moscow. It is said that it is something to do.
Brazil is a founding member of the China-led BRICS trade and security bloc. Shortly after assuming his third term as president in January 2023, current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his socialist government announced thatrestart” Relations between Brazil and China, which has been the South American nation’s main trading partner since 2009.
Mr. Lula will make an official visit to China in April 2023, and the two countries will signed More than a dozen agreements covering a wide range of topics including communications, technology, and commerce. Both countries also signed An agreement that abolishes the use of the US dollar in bilateral trade and replaces it with the Chinese renminbi.
Brazil’s participation in China’s predatory Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has reportedly become a hot topic. Discussed During Lula’s visit to China, Brazil was not formally participating in the program.
Infobae said Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied Brazil’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, but the information published In February, the regional government of Pará signaled otherwise, announcing the arrival of a Chinese delegation from the Silk Road Pioneers Committee for the Amazon Sea.
Among the members of the Chinese delegation that visited Pará state in February was the Chinese state-owned Zhuhai Sinolac Supply Chain Company, which “specializes in cross-border customs operations and warehousing between China and Latin America.” Also included were representatives of Infobae reported that the company is building a dedicated logistics center for Latin America in Gaolan Port, Zhuhai, China.
Infobae explains that in recent years, China has increased financing for the construction of highways, railways and other infrastructure projects in the region. China has also begun importing many of the Amazon’s basic products, such as steel, soybeans and beef, which are frequently imported by environmentalists. mention It is thought to be causing widespread deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
The news agency said the construction of a new Maritime Silk Road in the Amazon region, primarily focused on biofertilizer and bioeconomy trade, is expected to reflect China’s renewed interest in the resource-rich region. , noted that the area used to be continuous, but has experienced “rapid growth” in recent years. It is considered “not to play a significant role” in trade between China and Brazil.
According to the non-governmental organization Brazil-China Business Council (CEBC), of the $66 billion in direct investment China made in Brazil between 2007 and 2020, the Amazon rainforest received $11 billion. It was only dollars. Brazil’s exports to China reached more than $480 billion. According to Chinese customs authorities, it will begin in 2023.
Brazil’s top exports to China are soybeans, steel, frozen beef, and pulp and paper, according to data from the MIT Media Lab’s Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). Brazil tops the list of regional countries that have benefited the most from trade with China. Bilateral trade in 2023 was approximately $181 billion, of which Brazil’s exports accounted for $121 billion.
The majority of Latin American exports to China in recent years have been six items: soybeans, copper, iron ore, petroleum, cathode copper, and beef. Together, these six exports account for 72% of Latin America’s total exports to China. Infobae noted that Latin American countries mainly import manufactured goods from China, which has the “side effect of displacing local production.”
Infobae stressed that China’s efforts to expand its reach into the Amazon rainforest and exploit its resources could pose serious problems for the region and its environment.
Potential threats to the Amazon rainforest not only add to the environmental damage caused by China’s illegal fishing vessels; Brazilbut throughout latin americaas well as illegal wildlife trafficking of local animals transported from Brazil to China through routes through neighboring Guyana and Suriname.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
