Economic and Trade Cooperation Makes Chongqing and Bahia Closer

□Written by Zhang Lechao



Economic and Trade Cooperation Makes Chongqing and Bahia Closer

□Written by Zhang Lechao

Introduction of Bahia

Estado da Bahia, which means “cove” in Portuguese, whose state capital is Salvador, is an ancient city of B razil in South America with the tropical wet and dry season climate.

Estado da Bahia is a coastal city in northeast of Brazil. Its adjacent to the Atlantic Todos-Oslo Santos Bay, enjoying great geographical advantages. The Bay harbors plenty of p orts, allowing a cheaper transportation and good performance. What’s more, located in the east coast of Brazil, it is a bridge connecting the south-center and northeast, serving as an important transportation hub. Bahia is not only the largest economy entity, but also the business center in northeast of Brazil. Bahia is one of t he large agricultural states in Brazil with its economy based on agriculture and varied agricultural resources. The petrochemical industry has attracted a l arge number of f oreign investments, so Bahia has become one of the main production centers in Brazil. Its mineral resources are so rich in number (Bahia boosts such an abundant mineral resource) that the mining industry comes in the forefront of the country in Brazil. Tourism has a l ong history, ranking the second place in the tourism industry of Brazil in general.

Due to h istorical reasons, the culture in Bahia shows diversity with African culture, Latin American culture and European culture all together so that the form does not arrest one. The capital city, Salvador, the first capital of B razil, is designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO thanks to its rich colonial buildings and African cultural heritage. Yet Bahia is the very place where its culture is mostly inf uenced by the African ones, and CAPOEIRA is the typical example.

Knowledge of Foreign Affairs

Food Security

Food Security, they said, exists when all people, at a ll times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to m eet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Food Security at a macro level is a national issue while micro-level food security refers to household food security. There are four elements of food security: having enough food to fe ed; setting affordable food price; ensuing good food for the wants of a better life; food production which is eco-friendly and sustainable in the use of natural resource.

Food Security is always a m ajor strategic issue relating to people's livelihood in China. At present, China is already the largest country in food imports, in Chinese food imports, more than 70 percent are soybeans, but soybeans prices on the international market has long been controlled by the US. In order to break the monopoly, to gain direct control over starving and logistics channels from the root , s o as to s afeguard China’s national economic interests and food security, the Chinese government and enterprises continue trying to b uild their food production bases abroad. The cooperation between Chongqing and Bahia in building soybean base is typically exemplary.

International Logistics Channel

International Logistics Channel is an important country-tocounty, or region-to-region logistics route drawn in and under certain geographical environment and local policies. It mainly includes international ocean, air, rail and road transportation lines. International Logistics Corridor logistics system can help to boost regional economic development and improve resource allocation worldwide by linking state-to-state logistic exchange, exploring routes and ways for better transportation, facilitating commodity transition, cutting transition cost and f nally enabling the trans-border commodity f ows.

International Logistics Channel plays an important role to boost China's economy, improve its people’s living standards and the national competitiveness in the world. China attaches great importance to the construction of an international logistics channel. At present, China is actively building a new pattern of regional economic development with continual efforts to promote regional connectivity and infrastructure, accelerate the development of l arge international logistics channel. Chongqing, depending on its unique regional and economic advantages, has become the central stage to st rategically realizing a c oordinated economic development in the middle and west China. Chongqing is constantly pressing ahead an open inland economy by seizing the opportunity to handshake the international market through a smoother channel.

Cases

Chongqing Grain Group Invest and Build Soybean Base in Bahia

Chongqing’s annual consumption on the cooking oil is accounted to 350,000 tons, while the city produces only 10 million tons each year. More than 70 percent of the supply comes from other cities in and out of C hina. A c hange of p rice of the cooking oil will lead to f uctuations in the whole market. And as the prices of global agricultural products get on the rise, those of the oil futures and the cooking oil follow on. And being not the main factory of g rain and oil, it is crucial that Chongqing should f nd a suitable place to build such a grain and oil base if the city wants a stabilized oil price.

Chongqing Grain Group now has its eyes on the world's second largest soybean producer - B razil. In 2010, the Group invested and built in Brazil a 3 00 acres’ soy base with good quality. Money from the f rst phrase was used to build up a 162 acres’ soybean planting base in Bahia. In August of that year, Brazil's Congress passed the new law to restrict land purchase by foreign individuals and organizations so the Groups brought 48 percent of farmers’ real estate, ensuring 51％ of t he franchise by the Group in the contract, and a p ermanent ownership over a certain 300 acres’ land. While the Group was working on the infrastructure of the soybean planting base, its efforts were also given on a s eries of ancillary facilities projects: farm building, arable land using; construction of warehousing, port logistics system; soybean processing, the building of food industrial park, etc. In addition, the group will also set up agricultural loans and agricultural production investment company, the total investment in Brazil has exceed 16.2 billion yuan.

After the soybean processing base was put into service in 2013, an annual production and export of 2 m illion tons of s oybean oil from Brazil to C hina was secured, mostly to Chongqing and other domestic markets. Chongqing's "oil bottle" has since been f lled up.

Latin America's "Twin Ocean Railway " and Brazil " West-Eastern Railway"

"Twin Ocean Railway" is a r ailway construction projects covering the whole South America and it is set out to link the Pacif c and Atlantic regions. The railroad starts in the east from the city of R io de Janeiro, Brazil, to t he northwest across the iron ore-rich Minas Gerais, Goias, to M ato Grosso, Rondonia and Amazonas both rich in soy and beef. Then it passes the border of Acre state in Brazil to Peru, to the Peruvian port of Callao in the west, the Mollendo port or to the Arica port. The Brazil’s "West-Eastern Railway" construction plan and "Twin Oceans Railway" construction plan, Brazilian section are significantly harmonized, having Bahia's two railway construction projects included.

The concept of "Twin Ocean Railway" was first proposed in July 2014 when the Chairman Xi Jinping visited Latin America. During Xi's visit to B razil, China, Brazil and Peru made a j oint declaration on their "Twin Ocean Railway" Cooperation. On May 2015, when Prime Minister Li Keqiang was visiting four Latin American countries, China signed the Joint Action Plan for the Next Five Years with Brazil and decided to start the basic research on the feasibility of the initiative.

The "Twin Ocean Railway" will become a c onvenient channel between Asia and Latin America once completed. It helps to b reak Panama’s worldwide monopoly in logistics under the control of t he United States. Railway network infrastructure plays an essential role in Latin America’s economic growth where China can export railway equipment and introduce technology to b oost its own export. The "West-Eastern Railway", serving as an important part in it, not only facilitates Brazil’s export of high-quality agricultural output and of its mineral resources, but also helps the country to improve infrastructure. China, Brazil and Peru’s joint efforts for the "Twin Ocean Railway" is a win-win cooperation which will satisfy all.

Further Reading

Beautiful Salvador: The Birthplace of Capoeira (Brazil Fighting Dance)

Salvador is the first ancient capital city in Brazil, also known as “Black Rome”, because the amount of black residents of the city is the biggest in the world except Africa. The most obvious sign of Afro-Salvatore culture is capoeria.

Capoeira is a traditional martial art among black people, and its birthplace is Salvatore. It is known for quick and complex moves, using mainly power, speed, and leverage for a wide variety of kicks, spins, moving skills and heights. Capoeira at first glance is a fierce fight action, hiding overcoming strengths with softness, with clever way of force.

The history of capoeira is closelyconnected with jeremiad of Brazil’s black slaves. The slaves could not bear the heavy oppression from the Portuguese colonists and were always looking for a way to freedom. They danced capoeira in the religious ceremonies, and privately developed it into a kind of unarmed martial arts against attacks. Later it developed into a kind of dance, with the accompany of percussion instruments, and finally it becomes today's capoeira.

Modern capoeira is integrated with dance, music, religion, acrobatic fighting and many other elements. Capoeira was a combination of sports and music, its actions contain beautiful dance, and the music plays an important role. In recent decades, capoeira appeared in different genres, and they show themselves with strong competitions, forming a unique culture of capoeira.

Capoeira nowadays is not only a martial art, but an exporter of Brazilian culture all over the world. Since the 1970s, capoeira masters have been teaching it in foreign countries. Capoeira has been regarded as one symbol of Brazilian culture.

In 2008, capoeira was listed as

● By post-graduate student of School of International Relations, Sichuan International Studies University