Rio, 3/8/2004 (Agência Brasil - ABR) – "What we see is that the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce was right when it said that China is the answer to Brazil's problems. It is a gigantic market with money," says Charles Tang, the president of the chamber. With reserves of almost US$500 billion, and annual trade of US$450 billion, China and Hong Kong offer an enormous opportunity, adds Tang.

In the near future, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Germano Rigotto, will visit China. Meanwhile, an exhibition of Chinese exports, as part of the Canton Fair, will be in Porto Alegre beginning tomorrow.

At the Canton fair itself, there will be 330,000 square meters of exhibits by 16,000 exporters, which should be visited by 100,000. The last Canton Fair in October 2003, closed business deals worth US$20 billion.

Brazil's trade with China has risen sharply since the year 2000. Between 1985 and 2000, Brazil exported a steady US$1.5 billion worth of goods to China. In 2000, exports jumped to US$2.3 billion, and in 2001, to US$3.2 billion, with a US$600 million surplus for Brazil. In 2002, exports reached US$4.1 billion, with a US$1 billion surplus for Brazil. Last year Brazil exported US$6 billion to China with a surplus of US$2 billion. (AB)