Xi vows to enhance ties with Brazil, Latin America

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Brazilian National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, July 16, 2014. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged in Brasilia on Wednesday to further advance China's ties with Brazil and Latin America as a whole, so as to promote a fairer and more just international order.[Special coverage]

Xi made the remarks when delivering a speech at the National Congress of Brazil during his state visit to the Latin American country.

As an example of longtime bilateral friendly exchanges, Xi mentioned the Chinese tea farmers who traveled to Brazil some 200 years ago to teach local people about tea planting techniques.

Since China and Brazil forged diplomatic ties in 1974, their relationship have become "more solid and mature," he said.

Brazil is China's first strategic partner among developing countries, and also the first Latin American nation to forge a comprehensive strategic partnership with China, noted Xi.

The two countries regard each other as important cooperation partner, and their relationship has become a paradigm of South-South cooperation, he added.

Stressing that both China and Brazil are major influential developing countries and emerging-market economies with broad prospects, Xi said the two-way ties are gaining increasing global prominence.

He said as the two nations are marking 40 years of diplomatic ties this year, it should be a new start for furthering the comprehensive strategic partnership.

To that end, Xi put forward a three-point proposal.

China and Brazil should make continued efforts to deepen strategic mutual trust, understand and support each other on major issues concerning the other's core interests such as sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. They should also firmly support each other to adhere to a development path in line with its own national conditions, strengthen strategic dialogues and exchange experience in governance.

Moreover, both sides should highlight their common development by enhancing coordination on macroeconomic policies and expanding strategic converging points. They should also speed up the implementation of their ten-year cooperation plan, expand trade scale and mutual investment and push forward a batch of strategic cooperation projects, so as to promote deeper and broader practical cooperation.

They should also shoulder more international responsibilities, jointly safeguard and promote international justice and uphold the principles and tenets of the UN Charter in a bid to establish a new pattern of global development partnership that is more equal and balanced. They should strengthen coordination within the international and multilateral mechanisms, actively participate in global governance, and strive for more institutional power and rights to speak for developing countries.

On cyber security, Xi said while every state is entitled to safeguarding its own information security, the international community should build a multilateral, democratic and transparent system for international Internet governance based on the principles of mutual respect and mutual trust.

Hailing the time-honored China-Latin America ties, Xi said the relationship has embarked on a fast track of development since 2000.

China and Latin American countries, Xi suggested, should jointly pursue and realize their dreams, which are closely bonded together.

Noting that the Chinese people are currently striving for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Xi reiterated that China unswervingly adheres to the path of peaceful development and remains firmly committed to a win-win strategy featuring openness and mutual benefit.

Xi said China stands ready to make joint efforts with Brazil as well as other Latin American and Caribbean nations to bolster the forum between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and foster a comprehensive cooperative partnership featuring equality, mutual benefit and common development.

Both Brazilian Senate President Renan Calheiros and Chamber of the Deputies President Henrique Eduardo Alves said that the two nations are good friends and partners and Brazil is willing to enhance friendly cooperation with China and jointly pursue peace, harmony and prosperity.

Xi arrived here Tuesday after attending the Sixth BRICS summit in Brazil's coastal city of Fortaleza. Brazil is the first leg of Xi's ongoing Latin America tour, which will also take him to Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba.