CGTN Poll: Brazil expects China-Brazil relations to go beyond the bilateral, benefiting the “Global South”

Even mountains and seas cannot distance people with common aspirations. During Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying his state visit to Brazil, a survey conducted by CGTN, through the New Era International Communication Research Institute in cooperation with the Brazilian Center for Studies in Economic and Social Law for 1,106 Brazilian respondents shows that the respondents generally believe China-Brazil relations have long transcended the bilateral realm, and that the close coordination and cooperation between the two countries in multilateral platforms has injected more impetus into safeguarding the national interests of the “Global South” and building a fairer and more reasonable international order.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil. The two countries are good friends who share the same vision and good partners who go forward hand in hand. The survey found that Brazilian respondents have a high degree of favorability towards China. 91.6 percent of the respondents believe that China is a successful country. 84.5 percent of the respondents believe that China is a country worthy of respect. 81.2 percent of the respondents believe that China is an attractive country, and 76.2 percent of the respondents praise China as a responsible major country. In addition, the respondents positively evaluate the development achievements and concepts of China's modernization. 97.6 percent of the respondents believe that China's economic strength is strong. 96.9 percent of the respondents believe that China's economic development is fast. 89.8 percent of the respondents believe that China's economy will maintain a long-term positive development trend. 95.6 percent of the respondents positively evaluate China's outstanding contribution to the world economic recovery. 98.2 percent of the respondents believe that China's scientific and technological strength is strong. 92.9 percent of the respondents believe that China's scientific and technological innovation level is high and its capabilities are strong. 93.9 percent of the respondents believe that China's scientific and technological progress has made outstanding contributions to world development.

Over the past half century, China-Brazil relations have developed steadily and achieved fruitful results in practical cooperation. China has been Brazil's top trading partner for 15 consecutive years, and Brazil is China's largest trading partner and largest direct investment destination in Latin America, as well as the first Latin American country whose exports to China exceeded 100 billion dollars. In the survey, 86.7 percent of the respondents believe that China's huge market is an important development opportunity for Brazil. 71 percent of the respondents believe that China-Brazil trade relations are fair and mutually beneficial. 82.2 percent of the respondents believe that Brazil has benefited from the trade between the two countries, and expect both sides to work together to build the next “golden 50 years” of China-Brazil relations.

Ten years ago, it was in Brazil that Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed to build a China-Latin America community with a shared future, which received widespread and positive responses from Latin American and Caribbean countries. As a vivid practice of the China-Latin America community with a shared future, the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative has opened a window of opportunity for Latin American countries. In the survey, 74 percent of the respondents positively evaluate the positive impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on the economic and social development of Latin American and Caribbean countries. 71.3 percent of the respondents support Brazil's joining the Belt and Road Initiative, and the three most anticipated areas of cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative are infrastructure construction (68.4 percent), import and export investment and trade (61.9 percent), and cross-border e-commerce and digital trade (54.1 percent). It is worth mentioning that among the respondents aged 18-24 and 25-34, 83.4 percent of the respondents support Brazil's participation in international cooperation projects and programs initiated by China, and 93.7 percent of the respondents are optimistic about China-Latin America relations.

The survey was designed with a sampling quota based on the age, gender, and regional distribution characteristics of the Brazilian population, covering Brazil’s general impression of China, economic cooperation with China, political relations with China, and cultural exchanges with China, among other aspects.