BRASILIA (AFP) - Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Brazil for the start of a key Latin American tour that will include a major international summit.
Hu landed in Brasilia for a five-day visit with China's top Latin American trade partner before heading to Argentina and then Chile for the November 20-21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit. He will cap his trip with a visit in Cuba.
"China and Brazil are great developing countries that face the hard tasks of developing their economies and improving the lives of their peoples, and they take important responsibilities to maintain world peace," Hu said in a statement released to reporters by China's delegation.
Hu's entourage includes Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, Planning Minister Ma Kai and a small army of 150 government and business leaders.
At the hotel, Li said the two nations complement each other commercially and economically and that China's visit should bring about "very good results."
Beijing aims to increase trade with Brazil to 35 billion dollars by 2010, said Li Ming Lin, secretary of China's commerce ministry, who made his remarks in Sao Paulo before Hu's arrival.
The secretary took part Thursday in the opening of Beijing's first trade office in Brazil, the China Trade Center in Sao Paulo.
Trade between Brazil and China has increased 800 percent over the past 10 years, and in 2003 China became Brazil's third-largest trading partner, behind the United States and Argentina.
China's grain shortage is a boon for Brazilian and Argentine soybean exports. China is looking to set up long-term deals with both countries as it struggles to feed its 1.3 billion people.
Soy is Brazil's third-largest export to China, valued at 1.6 billion dollars in 2003, while the protein-rich bean made up the biggest part of Argentina's 2.72 billion dollars in exports to China last year.
Edmundo Fujita, Brazil's foreign ministry official in charge of the Asia-Oceania region, said that Hu will address the Brazilian congress on Friday.
The Chinese leader will meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, both of whom visited China earlier this year.
In Santiago, Hu will meet newly re-elected US President George W. Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and other leaders of Pacific rim countries at their annual summit.
Hu then travels with his entourage to Cuba for meetings with long-time ally President Fidel Castro.
Chinese and Brazilian officials are expected to sign a series of accords in fields including aviation, mining, and agriculture. Talks on many of the agreements began during Lula's visit to China in May.
In aerospace, the two countries have a joint project called the China-Brazil Earth Research Satellite (Cbers).
The satellites are designed to observe the earth's environment and provide images for urban and agricultural planning as well as for commercial sale.
The first two satellites of the series were launched in 1999 and 2003 aboard Chinese-made Long March rockets. The third satellite is scheduled for launch in 2006, according to the China's People's Daily newspaper.
The two countries are also negotiating a civilian nuclear cooperation accord that could result in Chinese purchase of Brazilian uranium and uranium enrichment technology.
Brazil hopes to finalize deals for Chinese investments in iron extraction and aluminum smelting as well as infrastructure such as railroad lines to help move products heading for Chinese markets to shipping points.
11/12/2004 - 02:37 GMT - AFP