Jiang said at a lavish state banquet that he was "convinced of the progressive strengthening in relations between China and Brazil" and believed that "those relations reflect the same interests as numerous developing countries and will certainly contribute to the long-term peace and prosperity of the region and the world."

Earlier, he had a 40-minute closed meeting with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in Brasilia, his latest stop on a Latin American tour.

Jiang focuses on the "strategic alliance" between China and Brazil during his 18-hour visit.

Cardoso, hailing the fact that China and Brazil were the world's two largest developing economies, said their strategic partnership should be used to construct "a new international order."

"The strong relations between these two countries should contribute to reducing the concentration of power and wealth in the international arena," he said.

Diplomatic ties between China, the top developing economy in Asia, and Brazil, Latin America's biggest economy, stretch back 27 years. Jiang visited Brazil in 1993, and Cardoso traveled to China two years later.

Trade between the two countries has grown only slightly in recent years, rising to a total of $2.3 billion in 2000 from $2.2 billion worth of goods shipped in both directions in 1995. Asia's financial crisis and Brazil's own currency crisis in 1999 have held back commerce, observers say.

But Brazilian officials are optimistic that Chinese membership in the World Trade Organization could benefit the Latin American giant, especially in agricultural exports like orange juice and soybeans. China has a slight trade surplus with Brazil.

Some observers have noted that China may have paid special attention to Brazil's experience as the world's ninth-largest economy as it radically opened its own economy to free market reforms over the past decade.

Among emerging economies last year, Brazil ranked second only to China in terms of direct foreign investment.

Jiang's visit this week coincides with a visit to China by Brazil's Defense Minister Geraldo Quintao. "Bilateral cooperation has registered significant results in all areas," Jiang said.

The two countries are already cooperating in space, with one successful joint launch in 1999 and two more planned for later this year.

In another sign of strengthening bilateral ties, Brazil's Embraer, the world's fourth-largest commercial jet maker, recently opened an office in China. Embraer sold jets to a regional Chinese airline in 1999 and is eagerly eying the growing Chinese market.

A host of other issues are of interest to the two countries, ranging from better terms of trade for the developing world to Brazil's desire to gain a seat on an expanded UN Security Council.

Jiang heads for Cuba on Thursday and then goes to Venezuela.

(China Daily 04/12/2001)