For now, Brazil is saying no – but yes.
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On Monday in Beijing, Celso Amorim, special presidential adviser for international affairs, said the country would not be joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a trillion-dollar transnational infrastructure programme launched a decade ago.
However, in the same breath, Amorim also said Brazil would use some of the belt and road framework to find “synergy” between Brazilian infrastructure projects and the investment funds associated with the initiative.
Observers say the announcement reflects divisions within the Brazilian administration over the initiative but it should not affect ties with China, its biggest trading partner, as it looks for a framework that best meets its needs.
Before the announcement, there had been some hope that Brazil would sign up for the initiative during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Latin American country this month.
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Amorim, alongside Chief of Staff Rui Costa and Gabriel Galípolo, head of Brazil’s Central Bank, visited Beijing last month, to lay the groundwork for the visit.