Brazil and China are discussing further bilateral cooperation in areas including artificial intelligence and smart cities, with calls for added financing for new projects.
The areas of mutual interest for potential cooperation were discussed during a virtual meeting between the Brazilian science, technology and innovation minister, Marcos Pontes, and China’s science and technology minister Wang Zhigang on 17 June.
Other areas of focus are space technologies and healthcare, including vaccine development and genomic sequencing, as well as the exchange of scientists and researchers, according to Brazil Tech.
Brazil Picking 15 Startups for II China-Brazil Innovation Week
“We have an intense, productive and long-standing cooperation with China”, said Pontes. During the meeting, the Brazilian minister suggested the possibility of renewed cooperation on issues such as food production, access to water, climate change, renewable energy and job creation, which will be affected by technological advances.
The meeting of the Science, Technology and Innovation subcommittee of the Sino-Brazilian Commission for High Level Cooperation is scheduled to take place in September this year.
Wang Zhigang said the meeting is “a starting point” in terms of strengthening cooperation between the two countries in science and technology matters.
The Chinese minister agreed with Brazil’s proposed areas of common interest, but pointed out the need to establish financing mechanisms to put the joint actions into practice.
“It is necessary to maintain the partnerships established in recent years and seek new types of cooperation. We must look to the past and think about the future,” Wang noted.
At a public hearing at the Brazilian Congress in early April, minister Pontes said the current departmental budget is insufficient for the basic maintenance of the 28 research organizations linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
