BEIJING (Reuters) – China and Brazil agreed on Friday to set up a working group to pursue cooperation on semiconductors as the South American nation strengthens ties with Beijing in areas of sensitive technology.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and their governments signed 15 agreements or MoUs that include the building of a sixth satellite used to monitor the Amazon, and the development of technology for 5G telecommunications, the Internet and cybersecurity.
Information technology has been a sticking point for China’s relations with the United States and European countries that have in some cases banned Chinese products for security reasons.Brazil, however, is interested in attracting Chinese investment in these areas, even with the distrust of the U.S. government that in recent years tried to stop it buying 5G equipment from telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
In an interview with Reuters, Lula’s foreign policy advisor Celso Amorim said Brazil will not veto the installation of a Chinese semiconductor factory in Brazil, and is interested in developing the technology in cooperation with China.
In the slew of MoUs China and Brazil agreed to “explore mechanisms to promote bilateral cooperation in scientific and technological research and industrial innovation.”
That would involve joint research and development activities between public, private and academic institutions, and the exchange of scientists and scientific papers.
On Thursday, Lula visited Huawei’s research center in Shanghai and was briefed on its technology, also trying on its virtual reality headset.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by David Holmes)
