Brazil visit to China generates $1bn in deals; tech investments abound

During a seminar aimed at discussing trade partnerships between Brazil and China, it was revealed that the ongoing mission led by president Dilma Rousseff has already generated $1bn in business agreements.

The information is from the minister for development, industry and foreign trade, Fernando Pimentel. According to the minister, some 20 agreements have already been negotiated at the start of the trade-focused government mission which commenced yesterday (Monday 11). So far, Chinese organizations have already agreed to invest heavily in projects around areas such as agriculture and aviation.

However, some significant developments took place in the information and communications technology (ICT) space. Several senior figures in the Brazil ICT industry are taking part in the visit, including science and technology minister Aloizio Mercadante and the president of trade body Brasscom, Antonio Gil.

Specifically on technology deals involving both countries, a deal was signed with Chinese telco and network equipment firm ZTE for the construction of an industrial park in the São Paulo city of Hortolândia. The $200m site will encompass a research and development (R&D) center, an equipment distribution, a training facility and a call center.

Another noteworthy development in the ICT area was the announcement by telco giant Huawei that it intends to build an R&D facility in the São Paulo city of Campinas, which would mean an investment of around $350m. Huawei is also reportedly looking to donate $50m worth of equipment to Brazilian universities and create around 1,000 job vacancies in the city.

Dilma was quoted by BBC Brasil as saying that the country wants to actively strengthen partnerships with China, technology being at the top of the agenda.

“More than business partners, we want to be partners in research, technology, innovation and product development with  truly binational technology, ” said Dilma, at the opening ceremony of the High- Level Dialogue Brazil – China on Science, Technology and Innovation seminar, which took place at the Complex Diaoyutai in Beijing.

“It is true that Brazil is a major food-producing countries in the world. It is true that we are not only producers of natural resources,” Dilma said at the event.

During the meeting, the Chinese also took the opportunity to showcase its accomplishments in technology. According to the BBC piece, statistics cited included the 815,000 technology-related patents issued since last year, an increase of 360% in relation to 2005, as well as the 156 hi-tech research facilities based in China.

“China adopted the strategy of absorbing, recreating and recomposing,” said the Chinese deputy minister of science and technology, Cao Jianlin.

The issue of intellectual property is a point of concern in the Brazilian technology community. A senior figure in the industry, who requested anonymity, told IT Decisions that while partnerships with China are “inevitable”, the impression that companies in Brazil may lose out prevails.

“I know of cases where Brazilian technology firms have attempted partnerships with the Chinese and they just copied everything and never actually invested. This is really worrying, particularly when we are talking about small firms,” the executive said.

Image by Magalie L’Abbé licensed under Creative Commons.