Resistência

By José Reinaldo Carvalho, journalist, member f the Central Comitee of Communist Party of Brazil 
The goal of the Belt and Road Initiative, which Brazil should join, is to create a community of shared development
José Reinaldo Carvalho – President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Brazil on November 19 will not be a routine diplomatic meeting. It is a special moment for Brazil to seize the opportunity to leverage its economy, its role in globalization and its more leading role in the multipolar world, without clinging to outdated formulas of belonging to the “Western world”. With the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), proposed by China, Brazil has a golden opportunity to consolidate an economic integration project with a direct impact on the development of its infrastructure and industry. Brazil’s full membership in the BRI would represent not only the strengthening of ties with China, but also an important step towards the consolidation of multipolarity, a goal that favors the autonomy of countries in the Global South and opposes the hegemonic aspirations of US imperialism.
The “One Belt, One Road” Initiative was launched in 2013 and seeks to promote global connectivity through investments in infrastructure in transportation, energy, telecommunications, among other sectors. To date, more than 140 countries have joined this effort, which moves trillions of dollars and has been transforming developing regions.
According to China’s own formulation, set out in several official documents and statements by its leaders, the objective of the BRI is to help build a global community with a shared future. The BRI involves countries in different regions of the world, at different stages of development and with distinct cultures, transcending differences in ideologies and social systems, without hegemonic aspirations or exclusivist geopolitical purposes.

The BRI enables different countries to share opportunities, achieve common development and prosperity, and build a community of interests, with mutual political trust, economic integration, and cultural inclusion.

The BRI advocates win-win cooperation and emphasizes that all countries are equal participants, contributors, and beneficiaries. It is a driving force for integrated economic development and mutual gains.

In line with contemporary trends, the BRI promotes green, inclusive, and sustainable development.

It is an initiative embedded in China’s principles of international cooperation, included within the scope of three other initiatives launched since Xi Jinping assumed the top leadership of the country in 2012, proclaimed the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and formulated a corresponding theory. I refer to the three global foreign policy initiatives put forward by the Chinese president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China, the leading force in society: the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative.

For Brazil, fully integrating into the BRI means access to a global investment fund, essential for the growth of infrastructure, which is one of the obstacles to the country’s development and whose overcoming is so necessary for the competitiveness of Brazilian products in the global market. Infrastructure projects could be financed by the BRI, facilitating the export of products to international markets, including the Chinese market itself, which is Brazil’s largest trading partner. The BRI can also contribute to the technological modernization of Brazil. China is currently a reference in areas such as 5G technology, artificial intelligence and renewable energy.
The strengthening of Brazil’s relations with China, in addition to the importance of bilateral cooperation, should also be understood as a powerful vector for strengthening multipolarity in the international system. China is an emerging power and has shown itself to be a consistent ally of developing countries, a country that is friendly to countries in the Global South. It is in our national interests to strengthen multipolarity, which is the most favorable scenario for our sovereign insertion in the world, considering the turbulent situation and hegemonic pretensions of the power that still leads collective Western imperialism, the United States.

Unlike the United States, China has a foreign policy that respects the sovereignty of the countries with which it has relations, offering opportunities for cooperation without requiring ideological alignment. For Brazil, which has historically sought autonomy in its international relations, this is essential. Brazil has already taken important steps towards autonomy in the face of US imperialism. It is not now, when it is about to reap the rewards and mature as a nation aware of its interests and mission, that it will fall into the trap of seductions and threats from the US, which intends to turn it into a pawn in the fight to prevent multipolarity and the rise of other powers.
The United States has a strategy to curb the expansion of the BRI and reduce relations between Brazil and China. Part of this strategy is to make it difficult for Latin American countries to approach China, arguing that this relationship could compromise the region’s sovereignty and security. All of this is done to maintain Latin America as its sphere of influence.
In addition, the United States’ reluctance to accept the rise of new powers and the strengthening of multipolarity is evident. If it moves away from the BRI and does not intensify its partnership with China, Brazil risks falling into the trap of dependence on US economic and geopolitical interests, weakening its position on the global stage.

Strengthening bilateral relations with China and joining the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative represent taking steps towards national development and multipolarity. This is a long-term strategic option. The important thing is to persist in the march that is already underway.

This is demonstrated by contemporary experience, as noted in an editorial published on November 14 by the Chinese newspaper Global Times: “Over the past 10 years, China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have used the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation as a practical platform, adhering to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and working together for common development. From trade connectivity to mutual cultural learning, from shared interests to resonant values, the building of the China-LAC community with a shared future continues to reach new milestones, providing profound insights for international relations in today’s world.”