Brazil-China Partnership on the Frontiers of Science

The sovereignty of nations is directly related to their technological dominance. Effective scientific and technological development strategies are essential for a country like Brazil, which has an abundance of natural resources, installed capacity and a strong human intelligence capital. Brazil needs to make appropriate investments in initiatives under such strategies, including those related to international partnerships and cooperation.

In the context of implementing Brazil’s industrial policy known as New Industry Brazil (New Industry Brazil aims to boost Brazil’s development up to 2033 through sustainability and innovation—Ed.), China’s strategic partnership stands out. This is because the two countries not only share many common interests but also have had great examples demonstrating that their cooperation is, in fact, effective and mutually beneficial, including the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program.

This is one of Brazil’s most successful examples of South-South cooperation, both for its individual results and for the strengthening of Brazil-China relations. Six satellites have already been developed through the initiative and the two countries are already working together on the seventh, with investments of around 250 million reais ($44 million). The aim is to quickly move forward with the eighth Brazil-China satellite, which will be a geostationary meteorological satellite and will represent a major technological advance for Brazil.

It is important to emphasize that the space sector, in particular, has a profile focused on international cooperation. Exploring the frontiers of knowledge of the world around us and beyond requires a strong relationship of mutual trust and the exchange of experience, information and good practices. This has been the case for the Brazil-China relationship in this strategic sector for almost 40 years.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil (MCTI), through the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development, has increased investments in research infrastructure, one example of which is the BINGO radio telescope. BINGO will be the only radio telescope in the world that aims to map atomic hydrogen as traced by the 21-cm line on large angular scales. The project’s goals are to understand the dark sector of the universe and develop instrumentation technology for observational cosmology and astrophysics. The radio telescope structure is being manufactured in China, and we expect to complete its assembly by 2024.

At the end of July, the MCTI launched the Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Plan which seeks, among other things, to promote Brazil’s global leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) through national technological development and strategic international collaboration. In this context, the MCTI already has a common plan with China and should initiate joint actions in AI with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT). The MCTI also intends to advance a new front of AI development with the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

In the broad area of digital transformation, the MCTI and the MIIT have established a joint work plan that includes, in addition to AI, high-performance computing, semiconductors, and quantum and other technologies. These are strategic areas for the development of both countries.

The Brazil-China Innovation Dialogue is expected to resume by 2025. The dialogue aims to promote exchange on policy, to learn about China’s innovation ecosystem, and to facilitate sharing of good practices between researchers from technology-based companies and between startups and technology parks.

Operation of the Brazil-China Center for Research and Innovation in Nanotechnology also needs to be resumed. This center made good progress, with good research and development results until 2018, but was discontinued. This cooperation has a strong focus on innovation in an area that is strategic for both countries, because it covers the field of advanced materials.

Current development strategies around the world, including in Brazil, have a common focus on energy transition. In this regard, the MCTI intends to work with the MIIT on research and development of the photovoltaic industry. A country like Brazil, which is abundant in sunlight (free energy), needs to make full use of this wealth to benefit its industry. China will be a great partner in the innovative development of the photovoltaic industry.

It is worth mentioning the important cooperation between the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and Tsinghua University, which jointly established the Brazil-China Center for Climate Change and Innovative Energy Technologies in 2010. This center has had the support of the MCTI since its inception and is expanding, with projects in the areas of sustainable development and initiatives focused on topics such as pollution control, climate change, renewable energy, biofuels, water resources, energy efficiency, nuclear energy, deep-sea technologies for oil and gas exploration, bioeconomy, forests and climate, energy planning, smart cities, mobility, petroleum engineering, industrial safety, technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship, and training programs.

In the coming months, the Brazil-China Center for Innovation in Solid-State Illumination is expected to be inaugurated. The center will operate at the Renato Archer Information Technology Center, a research unit of the MCTI. This is an example of cooperation in applied research in the areas of photonics and energy, including smart lighting, agricultural lighting, among others. This joint program will be important for Brazil, because photonics can be applied to several areas, including telecommunications, agribusiness, and health.

The MCTI and its research units will also partner with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is also structured to include research units. We intend to establish broad cooperation in 15 areas of knowledge.

Brazil-China cooperation in science, technology and innovation has an inspiring history and still has enormous potential to grow. It may be impossible for us to fully explore the capabilities of these two great countries. But for now, we remain engaged in several joint actions to promote the development of both nations, so that in the near future we can begin reaping the benefits that Brazilian and Chinese scientists have to offer the world. The outlook for the next 50 years is for increased joint development of strategic technologies that will lead Brazil and China to become global innovation powerhouses.