China’s leading agricultural and food company, COFCO Corporation, has invested more than US$2.3 billion in Brazil since 2014, according to data released by the company. COFCO Corporation has become one of the largest exporters and processors of corn, soybeans and raw sugar in Brazil.

The Macau Chief Executive will visit Portugal, Luxembourg and Brussels between the 18th and 27th of April and will be in Portugal until the 22nd of April, with meetings planned with the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho.

On the 9th of April, the governor of Bahia, Jerônimo Rodrigues, visited two production lines of the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD. The first, in the city of Hangzhou, produces 100% electric buses, and the second, in the city of Chengzhou, produces passenger cars with the same technology.

The 2022/23 crop of Brazilian cotton will arrive in the Chinese market with a novelty. Part of the bales shipped will have already been certified by the Brazilian Cotton Quality Program, developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock (Mapa) in partnership with the Brazilian Association of Producers of Cotton (Abrapa). The news was welcomed by Chinese industrialists and officials.

On the 13th of April, the President Lula da Silva visited the research and development center of the technology company Huawei in Shanghai, which has operated in Brazil for 25 years.

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) signed on the 12th of April, in Beijing, a cooperation agreement in science and technology with the Chinese institution CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEEID).

The Mayor of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Nascimento Cabral, was present at the founding ceremony of the first Association of the Chinese Community in the Azores, “a historic moment for Ponta Delgada, for the Azores and for Portugal, which will allow the internationalization of the economy, culture and knowledge”.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Brazil announced the success of its first international renminbi settlement transaction, marking a significant step forward for the bank’s international RMB business in the Brazilian market.

A new cargo air route linking the southern Chinese metropolis Shenzhen to Sao Paulo of Brazil, was launched by the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. This is the first international cargo freight route from Shenzhen to South America.

The Chinese business group, Huawei Technology, announced its intention to invest in São Tomé and Príncipe. The interest was expressed by the group’s representative for STP, Angola and Mozambique, Hoo Qiang, after an audience with the president of the National Assembly, Celmira Sacramento.

The Chinese shipyard Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry has started construction of the hull of FPSO P-82, a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, destined for the Búzios oilfield operated by Petrobras in Brazil. The hull is scheduled for delivery by the end of 2024, under a subcontract with Sembcorp Marine of Singapore.

On the 7th of April, the Governor of Bahia Jerônimo Rodrigues signed an agreement to expand the State Government’s technological partnership with Chinese company Huawei. The memorandum of understanding was signed in a ceremony held at the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen. According to the government, the agreement is the result of negotiations held in March in Salvador.