Sino-Brazilian trade increased by 78.7 percent to reach US$7.989 billion year-on-year in 2003 as against merely US$2.2 billion in 1998, indicating a huge trade potential between the two major developing countries.

China, as Brazil's fourth largest trade partner and third export market, imported mainly soy bean, iron ore, transport machinery and equipment, electronic appliances, rolled steel, pulp, auto parts, leather, timber and civil-use airplanes from Brazil.

Meanwhile, Chinese products sold to Brazil, China's largest trade partner in Latin America, includes home appliances and electronic and machinery equipment, metal ware, high-tech products, coke, yarns, textiles and products, and radio sets.

With huge mutual economic complementarity, Brazil enjoys constant trade surplus. During the 1985-2003 period, China's trade deficit with Brazil summed up to US$13.6 billion and it amounted to US$1.3 billion in the first four months this year.

Remarkable progress has also been made in bilateral investment. By the end of 2003, 73 Chinese-funded enterprises was set up in Brazil with a total actual investment of US$129 million, involving mining, electronic home appliances assembling, timber processing, telecommunications, trade and service sector.

And total actual Brazilian investment in China has reached US$890 million covering 312 projects.

As two major nations in Asia and Latin America, China and Brazil share rosy prospects in bilateral trade and economic cooperation and the Chinese government encourages such cooperation between enterprises of the two countries, according to an official with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.