Brazil and China extend validity of bilateral visas

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira (right) welcomes his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Photo: Márcio Batista/MRE

The top diplomats of Brazil and China announced on Friday that the two countries had signed an agreement to double to ten years the validity of tourist and business visas for people traveling between the two sides.

In 2023, about 42,500 Chinese tourists arrived in Brazil, according to data from Embratur, the Brazilian tourism board. The number remains well below pre-pandemic levels.

The agreement was signed during a visit to Brazil by China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, as part of a tour of Latin America and Africa. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to visit Brazil in November, when Rio de Janeiro hosts the G20 summit.

The move is part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Brazil and China. Brazil and China established diplomatic relations in 1974, during the military dictatorship. Since the late 2000s, the Asian giant has become Brazil’s outright top trading partner.

Brazilian exports to the Asian country consist mainly of key commodities — such as soybeans, iron ore, oil, and beef. China ships manufactured goods, electronics, and consumer goods to Brazil. Bilateral trade reached USD 157.4 billion last year, according to data from the Brazilian Industry and Trade Ministry.

Mauro Vieira, the Brazilian foreign affairs minister, reiterated “Brazil’s historic, consistent, and unequivocal support for the One China principle, as per the declaration adopted by the two presidents” when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Beijing last year.

On that occasion, Latin America’s top economy declared that it “firmly adheres” to the One China principle, adding that Taiwan is “an inseparable part of Chinese territory.”

Most of Latin America also has formal ties exclusively with Beijing — the exceptions being Guatemala, Haiti, and Paraguay. Since 2007, six nations in the region have ditched Taiwan for China.

Last weekend, Taiwan elected a new president, Lai Ching-te, who Beijing considers a staunch separatist.