Feature: Chinese merchants in Brazil contribute to strong China-Brazil ties

Grey-haired Zheng Lingqin still remembers some 50 years ago when she first set foot in the Brazilian city Salvador, where the locals were so curious when they saw a Chinese that they even followed her and tried to touch her straight black hair.

Salvador, the capital city of Bahia State, which is also the oldest city in Brazil, has witnessed the beginning of trade between China and Brazil dating back to the 1500's. China, silk and fans shipped from China can be found in the local museum and were once favored by the local elite.

Coming from Shanghai, Zheng and her husband, Lou Binglin, started their business in the late 1960's as vendors who sold embroidered tablecloths, which earned them their first small fortune. The couples opened their shop one year later.

"If you sold ten tablecloths then, you could afford a car with that income," Zheng told Xinhua.

The rapid development of the Brazilian economy then gave birth to a large middle class who became the main customers of their tablecloths. From 1968 to 1974, the annual domestic growth rate was over 11 percent, which made Brazil the richest country in Latin America and ranked it among the top 10 industrial countries in the world.

Going back to their hometown for a visit as China just launched its reform and opening-up policy, the couple found that Brazilian food, clothes and household appliances were warmly welcomed by their relatives in Shanghai.

At present, over 1,000 Chinese are living in Salvador.

Chinese shops line Salvador's famous commercial street named "September Seventh." Selling household appliances, suitcases, bags and accessories, Zheng Shoujing's two shops are among them.

Local people prefer Zheng's mobile phones and other electronic goods because of their "good quality."

"If the quality is not good, I will definitely not purchase them no matter how cheaply they were offered," Zheng explained his principle of buying goods from China's dealers.

Zheng's local employee, Erika, 19, also bought earrings and watches from the shop. Her reasons are simply "reasonable prices, good quality and high technology."

Five years ago, Erika learned from watching television that Chinese are "smart and good at doing business." She now understands Chinese people better by working for them: being polite, respectful with employees, paying workers on time. Erika hopes that she can earn enough money to visit China in the future.

Another Chinese merchant, Wu Kening, 61, came to Salvador in 1988. Having majored in electronics, Wu opened an electrical appliances repair shop to start his business. He earned 2,000 U.S. dollars in the first month.

Every time Wu went back to China, he found some business link between China and Brazil. He now operates a dental clinic, which offers state-of-the-art porcelain teeth to several hospitals in Salvador.

However, what impressed Salvadorians were not only small commodities made in China. Some hoisting equipment at the Salvador port mostly came from China's ZPMC Electric. Local data showed that 60,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) Chinese containers both entered and exited the port in 2015.

Although Brazil is still undergoing a sluggish economic recovery, its trade volume with China reached 66.327 billion dollars in 2015. It also shows that China is currently Brazil's largest trading partner. Meanwhile,Brazil is also China's largest trading partner among the BRICS countries.

As a bridge that has connected China and Brazil for more than five hundred years, Salvador is witnessing a new chapter in bilateral cooperation thanks to many hard-working Chinese people.

Now, whenever some Chinese people are walking on the streets of Salvador, locals will not follow them and touch their hair anymore. Instead, they will greet them with the Chinese words "ni hao!" Endi