China, Brazil satellite launch boost for developing countries: Xi
December 7, 2014, 3:52 pm

A Chinese Long March-4B rocket carrying the CBERS-4 satellite, jointly developed with Brazil, blasts off in Taiyuan satellite launch center in north China’s Shanxi Province, Dec. 7, 2014 [Xinhua]

Rousseff and Xi exchanged congratulatory messages on the launch of the CBERS-4 satellite, jointly developed by China and Brazil, on Sunday from China’s Taiyuan base.

In his message, Xi noted that the CBERS (China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) Program has “set a successful precedent for developing countries to conduct cooperation in space industries”.

In recent years, the program has yield fruitful results, claimed the Chinese President on Sunday. China launched the CBERS-4 satellite, jointly developed with Brazil, on Sunday from the Taiyuan base by Long March-4B rocket, the milestone 200th flight for the Long March rocket family and the fifth joint mission for BRICS members China-Brazil.

The Chinese president hoped that the two countries would “actively implement a decade-long bilateral space cooperation plan and boost the China-Brazil comprehensive strategic partnership”.

The relationship between China and Brazil has “a promising future”, Xi told Rousseff on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit in Australia.

Earlier this year Xi and Rousseff signed 32 agreements in commerce, education, civil aviation and energy, including a deal that will see Brazilian company Embraer sell 60 E-190 jets to China.

China is Brazil’s biggest trade partner, with bilateral trade between the two reaching $83.3 billion, up 10 per cent in 2012, and expected to exceed $90 billion this year.

Amongst the deals inked this summer were some infrastructure investments by China, most significantly a railway spanning the continent from Brazil’s Atlantic coast to Peru’s pacific ports, which woud significantly reduce the costs and time required for Brazil to ship raw commodities to China.

Rousseff on Sunday said the joint space program between China and Brazil carries “historic significance” since Brazil and China will share the satellite images with African and Latin American countries to boost South-South Cooperation, she added.

The explosion in South-South trade, one of the cornerstones of BRICS policy, leapt to 17 per cent of the global total in 2009 from 7 per cent in 1990.

TBP and Agencies