Brasília, 3/24/2004 (Agência Brasil) – Yesterday minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, continued his visit to China by meeting with minister Zhang Yunchuan, of the Commission on Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. A number of topics were discussed, among them an agreement on the distribution of images from the Sino-Brazilian earth resources satellites to other countries. It is expected that such distribution will be approved and ratified when president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visits China in May.

Since 1986 Brazil and China have had a joint space program agreement for the launch and use of satellites. At the moment two Sino-Brazilian satellites are in orbit and there are plans to put two more into space.

Amorim also met with the former vice prime minister of China, Quian Quichen, who is a prominent Chinese politician and presently a member of the United Nations "Blue Ribbon Panel" set up to study changes in the UN Security Council. Amorim and Quichen discussed Brazil's candidacy to become a permanent member of the Security Council. Brazil would like to have Chinese support for its candidacy. (translator: Allen Bennett)