Feature: People-to-people, cultural exchanges help China, Brazil further ties

Monica Cunha da Silva, has won a scholarship for one-year study in China starting this fall. The 19-year-old Brazilian girl is now eager for the trip.

Her relations with China and the Chinese language started when she was just a small baby and first moved with family from Brazil to Macao.

Finally, this relationship has borne fruit and, last year, she won the 13th Chinese Bridge tournament, a competition in which people from all over the world show their proficiency with Mandarin. She was the first Brazilian to ever achieve such feat.

Along with the rapid growth of trade relations between China and Brazil, the two countries' people-to-people and cultural exchanges have also made much headway in recent years.

Also in 2014, Wang Yili, a 24-year-old Chinese girl who immigrated to Brazil with her mother when she was a teenager, worked as a simultaneous interpreter during a BRICS summit held in the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza.

Wang, who graduated from high school and university in Rio de Janeiro, has a wish that she could contribute to cultural exchanges between China and Brazil.

In fact, the two countries' people-to-people and cultural exchanges can be traced back to two centuries ago, when some 300 Chinese tea growers were invited to Rio de Janeiro to plant tea bushes.

More Chinese infused fresh blood into and integrated with Brazil's multi-cultural society after coming to the country to help local people build roads, tap rubber trees and grow coffee.

In recent years, China and Brazil have kept expanding people-to-people and cultural exchanges, with increasing pragmatic cooperation in this field.

In accordance with a consensus reached by Chinese and Brazilian leaders, the two countries successfully held a series of events such as the "Culture Month" in each other's big cities in 2013.

Meanwhile, art troupes of China and Brazil have conducted frequent exchanges.

A symphony orchestra from the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang performed in Fortaleza and Brasilia last July to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Chinese art troupes' performances during the annual Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, have also played an active role in helping Brazilians learn more about the Chinese culture.

During a visit to Brazil last July, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the provision of 6,000 government scholarships for countries in the region within the next five years.

Brazil, in the meantime, has planned to send 5,000 students to China under a project named "Science Without Borders."

There are eight branches of the Confucius Institute in Brazil, with two Confucius classrooms at other institutions. Moreover, there are also Confucius institutes in Brasilia, Porto Alegre and Recife, reflecting a growth in the demand for the Chinese language all over Brazil.

In addition, some of the local language schools also offer Chinese classes. As businesses between Brazil and China become more prominent, Brazilians' interest in the Chinese language rises as well.

Monica, who studies Civil Engineering, believes that it will be good to learn the specific vocabulary that will allow her to use her knowledge of Mandarin in her chosen profession.

"I am thinking about going for a year (in China) and then returning here to graduate. I do not plan for a long-time stay in China for now; I want to stay in Brazil and use this advantage here," she said. Endi