Roundup: China can help Brazil improve infrastructure

Brazilian and Chinese experts have agreed that China can help Brazil improve its infrastructure, saying both nations can benefit from more exchanges.

At a seminar on China-Brazil relations organized last Friday by Brazilian think tank Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) in partnership with China's Fudan University, experts discussed the state of infrastructure in the two countries, the participation of private and public sectors in infrastructure construction and financing, environmental licensing and other issues.

Lia Valls, a researcher with the FGV, said China's importance to Brazil has increased significantly in recent years, with China being Brazil's largest trade partner for six consecutive years by 2014.

Earlier this year, China announced plans to invest 53 billion U.S. dollars in Brazil, mostly in infrastructure, showing China's interest in the South American nation.

Valls said that while China has a lot of know-how in building infrastructure, Brazil has a great need to improve its infrastructure.

The two nations can work together to achieve this goal, he noted.

Experts also pointed out Brazil's other weak points in infrastructure.

Fernando Veloso, also from the FGV, said that in Brazil, the public sector is responsible for most of projects and financing in the infrastructure sector, so there is a lot of space for private investors to get in this market.

Chen Duqing, a former ambassador of China to Brazil, said that when he first arrived in Brazil in the 1970s, he was deeply impressed by the state of infrastructure in the country, which once boasted modern bridges, airports and highways.

Since then, China has managed to undergo a quick transformation, but Brazil did not see a lot of progress, he said.

For example, he said, China now has an extensive network of railways, while railways are rare in the South American country.

Chen said he still hopes to see a high speed rail line connecting Brazil's two largest cities, Rio and Sao Paulo, taking some of the heavy traffic in their airports and lowering the price of transportation.

China's remarkable growth over the past several decades has much to do with the expansion of its infrastructure, he said.

He said that when it comes to infrastructure, China managed to accomplish in a few decades what developed nations took over a century to achieve, adding that although China's growth is lower now, the country is still growing steadily in a pace much higher than other countries.

China is on an express train to progress and can "give a ride" to other nations like Brazil, so that they can grow together, said the former ambassador. Endi