Co-sponsored by the Macau Foundation and Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), the Institute for Social and Cultural Research of MUST organized the International Symposium Series I “Chinese-Lusophone Relations: China and Brazil” on May 12-13, 2014. Nearly 200 hundred diplomats, scholars and students from Mainland China, Brazil, Portugal, United States and Macao attended the symposium. The distinguished guests present at the opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on the morning of May 12th included Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to the United States, member of the Eleventh National Committee of the CPPCC, and Secretary-General of Boao Forum for Asia; Mr. Chen Sixi, Deputy Head of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau SAR; Mr. Feng Tie, Deputy Commissioner from Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The People’s Republic of China in the Macau SAR; Mr. Sou Chio Fai, Director of Tertiary Education Services Office, Macau SAR; Dr. Wu Zhiliang, President of Administrative Committee of Macao Foundation; Mr. Fung Sio Weng, Head of Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Macau SAR; Mr. Lao Pun Lap, Head of the Government Policy Study Office of the Macau SAR; Dr. Chang Hexi, Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Macao); Dr. Rita Santos, Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Macao); Professor Xu Aoao, Advisor to the Chancellor, and former president of MUST; Prof. Lei Heong Iok, President of Macau Polytechnic Institute; Prof. Maria Cristina Caccimali, Professor of International Political Economy and Dean of Faculty of Economics, the University of São Paulo, Brazil; Prof. David Ritchie, Director of Brazilian Studies of Mercer University and Distinguished Guest Professor of MUST, etc.
Professor Zhang Shu Guang, Standing Vice President of MUST gave a welcome speech. According to Professor Zhang, Macao has long been committed to strengthening contact between China and Brazil. With historical ties with Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries, Macau has always played a special role in mediating conflicts and promoting the friendship between China and the Portuguese-speaking world. Professor Zhang hoped that through this symposium, MUST will become a unique platform for communication and cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
On behalf of the Macau Foundation, Dr. Wu Zhiliang also delivered a speech. He reiterated his positive views on the future cooperation between China and Brazil, which can be deeper and more extensive in areas such as agriculture, aviation, infrastructure, communications and energy etc., given the fact that both China and Brazil are BRICS countries and Brazil is China’s ninth largest trading partner. Cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries started many years ago. This international symposium, which coincides with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Sino-Brazilian diplomatic relations, is to demonstrate further the pivotal role Macao plays in promoting the political, cultural and economic dialogues between China and Portuguese-speaking counties.
Then, Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong delivered a keynote speech, introducing the development of Sino-Brazilian relation and his expectation on its future development. According to him, Brazil as an important member of the BRICS countries is a significant emerging market for the developing counties as well. There is a great potential for Sino-Brazilian cooperation, politically and economically alike. Both China and Brazil should develop according to their respective situations, but should work hand in hand to protect the interests of developing countries and together play a more important role in balancing the interests of different countries.
Dozens of experts and scholars participated in this symposium and exchanged their views on topics including “China-Brazil Relations in Perspectives”, “China-Brazil Cooperation on Global Governance”, “Cooperation and Competition in Trade and Economy”, “Comparison of Development Modes of China and Brazil” and “Macau and China-Brazil Relations”. The papers presented will be collected and published by Social Sciences Academic Press.
The International Symposium “Chinese-Lusophone Relations: China and Brazil” is an integral part of the long-term project on “Relations between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries” recently embarked upon by the Institute for Social and Cultural Research of MUST. To support the 2013 launched PhD program on international relations and employing both qualitative and quantitative research methods, this project aims to systematically examine the development of the relations between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. At the same time, by establishing an assessment system of China-led multilateral cooperation mechanism in economics, trade and culture, this project expects to identify the dynamics and focal areas of the development that the Sino-Portuguese Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum (Macau) has been promoting, so as to further the all-round cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries by bringing Macau’s platform role into full play.
