Backgrounder: Basic facts about Brazil

    BRASILIA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will arrive in Brazil on Wednesday for an official visit. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Brazil.

    China and Brazil, the biggest developing countries in Asia and South America respectively, have maintained healthy and stable relations for 35 years.

    CONTINUOUS HIGH-LEVEL CONTACTS

    China and Brazil established diplomatic ties in 1974. In recent years, both countries have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges of visits. The two countries set up strategic partnership in 1993 when then Chinese President Jiang Zemin visited Brazil.

    In May, 2004, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid an official visit to China, followed by Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Brazil in November the same year.

    In the following year, Brazilian Vice President Jose Alencar visited China and in 2006, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, visited Brazil.

    In June 2008, He Guoqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, visited Brazil.

    Thanks to these exchanges of visits, the two sides have deepened their mutual understanding and overcome many differences. In 2007, the two countries agreed to establish a strategic dialogue mechanism to further their cooperation.

    ECONOMIC AND TRADE COOPERATION

    In the past decade, trade between China and Brazil has been growing rapidly. In the last eight years, bilateral trade has grown by 30 percent annually. In the first 10 months of 2008, bilateral trade volume reached 42.54 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

    In 2007, China overtook Germany as the third biggest trading partner of Brazil, and last year, China surpassed Argentina to become Brazil's second biggest trading partner, after the United States.

    Brazil, a major exporter of raw materials, also exports high-tech products like airplanes for regional flights. Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer created a joint venture with the Aviation Industries of China (AVIC-II)in 2002. In 2007, the company delivered its first ERJ 145 model, totally made in China.

    Meanwhile, Chinese companies that produce products like electrical appliances and telecommunication devices have achieved great success in the Brazilian market. Chinese brands Huawei, ZTE and Gree are very popular in Brazil.