The Planning and Development: Insights and Experience for Sustainable Growth Forum takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18 (COURTESY PHOTO) 

A forum titled Planning and Development: Insights and Experience for Sustainable Growth was held in Rio de Janeiro on November 18.

The event aimed to give Brazilian students and scholars a clearer look at China’s progress in sustainable development, the results of China–Brazil cooperation, and the role of China’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) in strengthening cultural exchange and supporting global stability.

Co-hosted by the China International Communications Group (CICG) Center for the Americas (Beijing Review), Embratur (the Brazilian Tourist Board), and the Confucius Institute at Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Brazil, the forum brought together more than 50 participants, including representatives from universities, media, and youth groups from both countries.

Xin Feng, President of the China International Communications Group Center for the Americas, delivers a speech at the forum via video link (COURTESY PHOTO) 

“China and Brazil are the largest developing countries respectively in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, founding members of BRICS and major voices of the Global South,” Xin Feng, President of CICG Center for the Americas, said at the event via video link. “The two countries share common positions on multilateralism and on the reform of global governance.”

Xin said that both sides have made meaningful contributions to tackling climate change and advancing sustainable development. He said the CICG Center for the Americas will continue to act as a bridge for dialogue between China and the Americas, including Brazil, and will work to deepen understanding and cooperation.

Fábio Barboza Passos (center), Vice Rector of the Fluminense Federal University, Consul General of China in Rio de Janeiro Tian Min (third right), Andre Netto, Coordinator of International Markets at Embratur (second left), and other keynote speakers at the forum (COURTESY PHOTO) 

Professor Fábio Barboza Passos, Vice Rector of UFF, welcomed participants and said the university is eager to deepen its links with China. He said that both Brazil and China attach great importance to research on energy transition and sustainable development, and the university plans to establish a research center focused on these fields. He added that Chinese and Brazilian universities already cooperate in many areas and said he looks forward to expanding joint research even further.

Consul General of China in Rio de Janeiro Tian Min said that the recent Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee reviewed and adopted the recommendations for China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. She stressed that the careful formulation and continued implementation of Five-Year Plans is a key part of the CPC’s governance approach, and China’s development model offers insight on new paths toward sustainable development.

Tian said that the plenary session underscored the stability of China’s policy direction, the resilience of its economic growth, and the clarity of its long term priorities. She said it sent a positive signal that China is ready to share opportunities, advance development, and help build a community with a shared future for humanity.

She added that the plan will create new opportunities for result-oriented cooperation between China and Brazil. The Chinese Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro, she said, will continue to serve as a bridge, strengthening exchanges and cooperation across the region and supporting the shared development of both countries.

Andre Netto, Coordinator of International Markets at Embratur, said the deepening of China–Brazil relations is creating new chances to bring the two peoples closer. Embratur, he said, is actively expanding its reach in the Chinese market. During COP30, the agency organized field visits for Chinese social media content creators to learn about Brazil’s ecological protection efforts and its sustainable development practices. He said he hopes these content creators will share these stories with Chinese audiences and help attract more visitors to Brazil.

With next year marking the China-Brazil Year of Culture, Embratur plans more exhibitions, events, and joint promotional efforts to further strengthen bilateral ties and build a lasting partnership rooted in trust and opportunity.

During the thematic session, João Evangelista Dias Monteiro, Director of the School of Tourism of UFF, Flávia Clemente de Souza, Director of the Institute of Arts and Social Communication, Vitor Ierusalimschy, Brazilian Deputy Director of the Confucius Institute at UFF, Fabia Trentin, Director of Tourism of Niterói Tourism Company, also shared their views. They said people-to-people exchanges between China and Brazil are moving in a more active and promising direction. They expressed hope that institutions in both countries will deepen cooperation in fields such as sustainable development and build more mechanisms that support information sharing. They also noted that students represent the future of both countries, and of the world, and stressed the need to encourage stronger youth exchange and cooperation to help shape a better future.

A roundtable discussion at the forum (COURTESY PHOTO) 

At the roundtable, Guo Xiaohong, Director of Foreign Services at China.org.cn, Xing Yutao, a professor in the Physics Department of UFF, Chinese travel content creator Chang Lin, and Brazilian travel content creator Lipe Camanzano shared their observations on China–Brazil cooperation in sustainable development.

They emphasized that sustainable development is not an abstract idea. China and Brazil share a common vision and have rich local experience to draw from. Stories such as wetland conservation in Yancheng of China and ecological management around the Itaipu Hydropower Plant in Brazil, they said, deserve to be told to promote further cooperation.

Participants pose for a group photo at the forum (COURTESY PHOTO) 

The forum concluded a broader program hosted in Brazil from November 10 to 18—The Connecting Cultures: Brazil-China 2025 initiative, organized by Embratur with support from the CICG Center for the Americas, which brought Chinese media and Internet influencers to São Paulo, Iguaçu and Rio de Janeiro. The group conducted interviews and field studies on ecological governance, sustainable tourism, China-Brazil cooperation, and cultural exchange.

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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