Podcast

Explaining Brazil #57: How should Brazil deal with China?

This episode, How should Brazil deal with China?, is supported by Fast Help. Fast Help is a Brasília-based IT company that is focused on cybersecurity. Protect your business by teaming up with Fast Help. Go to fasthelp.com.br for more information on how to protect your company’s virtual space.

One-quarter of Brazilian exports—and almost half of Brazilian commodities—go to China. In a nutshell: Brazil has never been so dependent on one single country. China is just one of the subjects opposing the government’s ideological zealots—which loath the Asian giant—and the more pragmatist conservatives, more interested in selling goods and getting technology from China.

Who will win? The health of the Brazilian economy hangs on that question.

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On this episode:

Charles Tang is the head of the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He was also a member of the World Policy Institute in New York and the Fernand Braudel Institute of World Economics in São Paulo.
Mauricio Santoro holds a Ph.D. in Political Science. He is currently Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of International Relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. He also writes op-eds for The Brazilian Report.

Background reading:

Ciara Long writes about China’s creeping influence over Brazil’s economy. Is it good for Brazil, or just a new form of colonialism?
The trade war triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump has made Brazil even more dependent on its number one trading partner, China.
When analyzing the historical data of Brazil’s import habits, what is striking is that China barely figures as a serious market for sales purchases until the mid-2000s.

Chinese investors are among foreigners purchasing lots and lots of land in Brazil, a process internationally known as “land grabbing.”

Explaining Brazil is made by:

Gustavo Ribeiro, editor in chief of The Brazilian Report. He has extensive experience covering Brazilian politics. His work has been featured across Brazilian and French media outlets, including Veja, Época, Folha de São Paulo, Médiapart and Radio France Internationale.
Maria Martha Bruno, producer. She is a journalist with 14 years of experience in politics, arts, and breaking news. She has collaborated with Al Jazeera, NBC, and CNN, among others, and worked as an international correspondent in Buenos Aires.
Euan Marshall, editing. is a journalist and translator who has lived in São Paulo, Brazil since 2011. Specializing in Brazilian soccer, politics and the connection between the two, his work has been published in The Telegraph, Al Jazeera, The Independent, among others.