General

According to the news on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Brazil on October 28, on October 26, the major Brazilian newspaper "Economic Value" published an interview with Ambassador Yang Wanming in both the print and online editions. When asked, "Regarding China's investment in Pakistan, which areas will become the most attractive areas for Chinese investment in the next few years?" Ambassador Yang Wanming stated that China is Pakistan’s main source of foreign investment and has the fastest growth rate of investment in Pakistan. One of the fastest countries. Up to now, Chinese companies have invested more than 80 billion U.S. dollars in Pakistan, accounting for one-third of China’s total investment in Latin American countries, covering a wide range of traditional fields such as oil, power, new energy, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and communications. Emerging industries have created more than 40,000 direct jobs for the local area.

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang Wanming pointed out that the trend and industrial layout of the investment cooperation between the two sides in the next stage will be determined by the economic complementarity of the two countries and their respective development needs. For example, the Pakistani federal government and many local governments have made infrastructure, energy, and agriculture the key areas to boost the economy after the epidemic, which will bring opportunities for investment cooperation between China and Pakistan. China is willing to expand cooperation with Brazil in emerging fields such as digital economy, low-carbon economy, smart agriculture, smart cities, and 5G communications to jointly achieve sustainable development. Chinese companies are optimistic about Brazil's medium- and long-term development prospects and broad market, and pay attention to Brazil's policy of attracting investment in key areas. It is expected that Pakistan will continue to provide a fair and open business environment for Chinese enterprises and create a good atmosphere for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

u3000u3000 The transcript of the interview is as follows:

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: Does China plan to announce a more ambitious emission reduction plan at COP26?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: The upcoming 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) is an important meeting in the field of global climate change and environmental governance. China expects COP26 to send a strong signal to firmly uphold multilateralism and strengthen multilateral cooperation, and promote the international community to fully implement the goals and principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. It is necessary to strengthen the implementation of commitments, especially to promote developed countries to take the lead in substantially reducing emissions and to earnestly fulfill their commitments in funding, technology, and capacity building. All parties should respect the institutional arrangement of “national independent decision-making contributions” and promote a win-win situation between climate change and sustainable economic and social development.

u3000u3000 Under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thoughts on ecological civilization, China has unswervingly followed the path of ecological priority, green and low-carbon development, and announced the goal of achieving carbon peaks by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, demonstrating its climate action ambitions. China will successively release implementation plans and supportive measures for carbon peaking in key areas and industries, and establish a carbon peaking and carbon neutral "1+N" policy system. To this end, China will carry out extensive, comprehensive and profound economic and social reforms, and is willing to work with all parties to make due contributions to the advancement of global climate governance.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: President Xi Jinping announced at the UN General Assembly that China will no longer build coal power plants abroad. Does this mean that China will no longer fund the construction of foreign coal power plants?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: It is China’s important commitment to tackle global climate change not to build new overseas coal power projects. In fact, China's foreign investment is accelerating its transformation in the direction of clean, environmentally friendly, green and low-carbon. In the past seven years, China's investment in renewable energy has increased from 19% to 58% of its total investment in partner countries along the “Belt and Road” initiative, surpassing investment in fossil energy. Next, while accelerating the upgrading of domestic industrial structure and energy structure, China will give full play to its advantages in environmental protection technology and green finance, and vigorously support developing countries to realize energy green and low-carbon transformation.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: Global industries are facing the dilemma of insufficient supply of raw materials, many of which are manufactured in China. The most typical example is semiconductors, which also affects Brazilian industry. When do you think the production chain that relies on China will return to normal?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China has overcome internal and external challenges, has always adhered to opening up, and spared no effort to maintain the smoothness and stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain, injecting strong impetus into the recovery and growth of the world economy. Take semiconductors as an example. From January to August this year, China's global exports of semiconductor devices increased by 34.8% year-on-year, and exports to Brazil increased by 46.1%.

u3000u3000In fact, the international industrial chain represented by semiconductors, from the supply of raw materials to design, production, assembly, and logistics, has a meticulous division of labor, numerous links, and mutual integration. No country can bear it alone and requires the cooperation of all countries. The current global industrial chain supply chain is blocked not because of China, but because some countries are engaged in decoupling, cutting off confessions and blocking sanctions in order to safeguard their own private interests. This practice violates the rules of the market economy and hinders the recovery of the global economy. China is willing to work with Pakistan and the international community to oppose the high barriers of trade, investment, and technology, firmly maintain the multilateral trading system, build an open world economy, and maintain the safe and smooth operation of global and regional production chains, industrial chains, and supply chains. Promote the world economy to achieve higher quality and more resilient development.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: Regarding China's investment in Pakistan, which areas do you think will become the most attractive areas for Chinese investment in the next few years?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: China is Pakistan’s main source of foreign investment and one of the countries with the fastest growth in investment in Pakistan. Up to now, Chinese companies have invested more than 80 billion U.S. dollars in Pakistan, accounting for one-third of China’s total investment in Latin American countries, covering a wide range of traditional fields such as oil, power, new energy, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and communications. Emerging industries have created more than 40,000 direct jobs for the local area. In the next stage, the trend and industrial layout of the investment cooperation between the two sides will be determined by the economic complementarity of the two countries and their respective development needs. For example, the Pakistani federal government and many local governments have made infrastructure, energy, and agriculture the key areas to boost the economy after the epidemic, which will bring opportunities for investment cooperation between China and Pakistan. China is willing to expand cooperation with Brazil in emerging fields such as digital economy, low-carbon economy, smart agriculture, smart cities, and 5G communications to jointly achieve sustainable development. Chinese companies are optimistic about Brazil's medium- and long-term development prospects and broad market, and pay attention to Brazil's policy of attracting investment in key areas. It is expected that Pakistan will continue to provide a fair and open business environment for Chinese enterprises and create a good atmosphere for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: Among the major commodities exported by Brazil to China, which category of commodities do you think has the greatest room for growth in the Chinese market? What key measures do you think can increase Pakistan's exports to China?

u3000u3000 Ambassador Yang: China has been Brazil's largest export market for many years. From January to September this year, Pakistan’s exports to China increased by 34% year-on-year, and its trade surplus with China hit a new high, which was higher than last year, which accounted for two-thirds of Pakistan’s total trade surplus. This is a strong proof that China-Pakistan trade cooperation is highly complementary and mutually beneficial. Looking ahead, household consumer goods will be an important growth point for China-Pakistan trade. On the one hand, China has the world's largest and fastest-growing market. China's per capita GDP has exceeded 10,000 U.S. dollars and will reach 30,000 U.S. dollars by 2035. China's current middle-income population has exceeded 400 million, and 400 million people will be added by 2035. This will provide broad space for China and Pakistan to expand the scale of trade and optimize the trade structure. On the other hand, Brazil's resource endowment is highly complementary to China's market demand, and its role in ensuring China's food and resource security is also rising. Under the epidemic, in addition to traditional products such as crude oil, iron ore, soybeans, Brazilian meat, juice, nuts, propolis, coffee, tea, leather products and other daily consumer goods exports to China have increased significantly, which will become a diversification of Brazil’s exports to China. The important direction of development.

u3000u3000 While the Sino-Pakistani trade continues to grow, promoting product diversification and increasing the added value of products are important issues facing the two countries. I think the two sides can focus on the following tasks: First, strengthen policy communication. China is willing to maintain close coordination with Pakistani agriculture and quality inspection departments to further expand the list of Pakistani exports to China. The second is to increase promotion efforts. The Chinese people are increasingly paying attention to the safety and healthy consumption of imported products. Brazilian exporters can formulate targeted marketing strategies to consolidate the brand image of Brazilian products that are safe and reliable, and increase the Chinese market’s awareness of Brazil’s high-quality products. The third is to unblock marketing channels. China has become the world's largest online retail market for 7 consecutive years. China's customs and logistics systems are all providing convenient services for online shopping. Brazilian companies should pay more attention to the development of new business models such as direct sales of e-commerce to China, so that more Brazilian products will become popular on the Chinese Internet.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: A few weeks ago, Brazil voluntarily stopped beef exports to China due to the discovery of atypical mad cow disease. When do you think China will restart Brazilian beef exports to China?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: The Chinese government attaches great importance to the protection of imported food safety and consumer rights, and has adopted strict health and quarantine requirements and measures for food exported to China. Pakistan took the initiative to temporarily suspend beef exports to China after the discovery of atypical mad cow cases, which shows that Pakistan attaches great importance to the safety of exported food and strengthens the confidence of both sides to deepen agricultural cooperation. Recently, the China-Pakistan agriculture and quality inspection departments are maintaining close communication on the restart of the export of Brazilian beef to China. It is believed that the two sides will properly handle this case on the basis of friendly consultation.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: Regarding 5G, in the context of the US accusing Huawei and China, the Brazilian government chose to allow Huawei to bid, but prohibited it from participating in government private networks. Do you think this model meets China's needs?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: 5G is the core technology for sharing the dividends of the new round of technological revolution. Choosing advanced, safe, and cost-effective 5G equipment is the key to enhancing national competitiveness. The U.S. has groundlessly suppressed China's high-tech companies such as Huawei without facts, and brutally interfered in other countries' independent selection of 5G cooperation partners, with the purpose of suppressing China's development and safeguarding its own private interests at the expense of other countries' development interests.

u3000u3000 The quality and safety of China's 5G technology have been widely recognized by operators in Brazil and most countries around the world. In the past 30 years, Huawei has built more than 1,500 networks in more than 170 countries and regions, with users exceeding one-third of the world’s population. There has not been a single cyber security incident, and no country has produced evidence of “backdoors” in Huawei products. . In the 22 years of operating in Brazil, Huawei has created more than 16,000 local jobs and maintained good cooperation with more than 500 Brazilian companies. The equipment supply covers about 50% of the local communication network and 40% of the core network, and the network covers 95% of Brazil. The population, its products and services are highly recognized by the market.

China is willing to deepen 5G cooperation with Brazil on the basis of mutual benefit and win-win results. It is expected that Brazil will provide companies from all countries including China with truly fair, just and non-discriminatory market rules, and continue to create a good business environment for China-Brazil economic and trade cooperation. .

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: China's relationship with Australia, the world's largest iron ore supplier, is strained. Will it purchase more iron ore from Brazil?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: Sino-Pakistani trade and Sino-Australian trade are not a one-to-one relationship. China's demand for iron ore stems from the strong momentum of domestic economic recovery. In the long run, China's domestic demand will grow steadily, and the demand for international bulk commodities will continue to increase.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: With the reduction in domestic demand in China, will the Chinese government consider re-encouraging domestic steel exports?

u3000u3000 Ambassador Yang: China is the world's largest steel producer and consumer. This year, China's steel demand has grown strongly, and domestic pig iron, crude steel and steel output have maintained steady growth. At the same time, the export volume of China's steel products has also increased, mainly due to the recovery of demand in the international market and the soaring steel prices in European and American markets.

u3000u3000In fact, the steel industry is the industry with the largest carbon emissions in China's manufacturing industry, accounting for about 15% of the country's total emissions. In order to promote the green development of the economy, China has clearly stated that the steel industry should take the road of high-quality and reduced-quantity development. In the past year, China has raised export tariffs on related steel products twice in order to guide the steel industry to transform to high-quality development on the basis of ensuring the balance of supply and demand of China's steel.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: From a realistic perspective, will the Evergrande incident threaten China’s economic growth and domestic demand? Will China reduce iron ore imports from Brazil? Why? At present, what is China's economic growth forecast in 2022?

u3000u3000 Ambassador Yang: At present, the impact of the Evergrande incident is partial. This year, in the face of the complex and severe international epidemic and the world economic situation, China has coordinated epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, and its economic operation has been steadily strengthened and in line with expectations, and its economic development momentum has been further strengthened. In the first half of the year, China's GDP exceeded US$8.2 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%. From January to August, major indicators such as corporate profits, investment, domestic demand, and employment trended well. According to data from the Brazilian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Brazil’s iron ore exports to China reached US$3.796 billion in August this year, doubling year-on-year. The export volume in September reached 25,576,800 tons, an increase of nearly 7% month-on-month, and the export value increased by 13.26% year-on-year.

u3000u3000 At present, China is building a new development pattern in which the domestic and international dual cycles promote each other, vigorously promote reform and opening up, continuously release the vitality of domestic demand, and promote high-quality economic development. The World Bank predicts that China’s economic growth rate will reach 8.5% in 2021, leading the world’s major economies and contributing more than 25% to global economic growth. China's economic growth rate will remain at 5.4% in 2022. This shows that China has a solid economic foundation, adequate chemical insurance capabilities, strong growth momentum, and the foundation and conditions for long-term continuous improvement.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: Will the Evergrande incident affect the direction of the Chinese government's regulation of the real estate market? Will it impact the market's confidence in real estate or other industries?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: Some real estate companies have encountered operational difficulties, and the impact on the development of the entire industry and other industries needs to be observed. From the data point of view, the operation of the real estate market in various parts of China has remained stable this year, the sales of commercial housing and the sales area have both increased steadily, and the investment in real estate development has been generally stable. In recent years, the Chinese government has clearly stated that it is necessary to adhere to the positioning of houses for living, not for speculation, and to take measures to suit local conditions and to promote a more stable and healthy development of the real estate market. At the same time, the Chinese government will maintain the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies, focusing on supporting the real economy and promoting employment, stimulating the vitality of market players, and promoting economic stability and long-term development.

u3000u3000 Economic Value Report: China stated that it has provided more than 1 billion doses of new coronary pneumonia vaccines and stock solutions to more than 100 countries. Chinese pharmaceutical companies are working hard to deliver more vaccines to Brazil in 2023. Will this batch of vaccines be delivered directly to the Ministry of Health of Pakistan, or will they be delivered through cooperation with the Butantan Institute? Are there discussions between the Chinese vaccine research and development institutions and the Brazilian government?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: Up to now, China has provided 1.2 billion doses of vaccines and stock solutions to more than 100 countries and international organizations. China will endeavor to provide 2 billion doses of vaccine throughout the year. On the basis of donating 100 million US dollars to the "New Crown Vaccine Implementation Plan", another 100 million doses of vaccine will be donated to developing countries within the year.

u3000u3000China is the first country to develop vaccine cooperation with Brazil and provide vaccines to Brazil. The vaccines and original solutions provided by China account for more than 70% of the total vaccines currently received by Pakistan, which have played an important role in Brazil's fight against the epidemic. The current vaccine cooperation between the two countries continues to develop steadily. The three Chinese vaccines of Kexing, Clover, and Keweifu are undergoing phase III clinical trials in Pakistan. Two vaccines developed by Sinopharm and Cansino Bio are applying for emergency use in Pakistan. Kexing is still discussing follow-up vaccines with the Butantan Institute. Cooperate to discuss. China is willing to continue to advance the vaccine cooperation between the two countries according to the needs of Pakistan, and work together to overcome the epidemic at an early date.

u3000u3000 Economic Value News: Do you think that the attack on the Chinese Consulate General in Rio is a manifestation of the hostility of President Bolsonaro’s supporters to China?

u3000u3000Ambassador Yang: General Manager of China in Rio