Good morning! We’re covering Jair Bolsonaro’s much-anticipated trip to China. Where Brazil stands on the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking. And the Mercosur crisis. (This newsletter is for platinum subscribers only. Become one now!)
Jair Bolsonaro visits China: What to expect?
After a visit to Japan, President Jair Bolsonaro arrives in China today—where he will meet with President Xi Jinping and several businesspeople. The president’s agenda will be focused on bringing investments and opening up routes for business. Here are the main topics on his agenda:
- Expanding and diversifying exports (especially for agricultural products);
- Attracting investments in infrastructure, 5G technology, and tourism;
- Signing science and tech cooperation deals, especially in the energy sector.
Why it matters. Ten years ago, China became Brazil’s top trading partner. It is the destination of over one-quarter of all Brazilian exports and almost half of the country’s commodity exports. But relations between President Bolsonaro and Beijing have been tepid at best—during the G20 Summit, in June, President Xi stood up Mr. Bolsonaro after the pair had scheduled a meeting.
No hard feelings? But the Chinese government seems to be willing to turn on a new page on this relationship, providing an impressive structure for Mr. Bolsonaro’s...