Brazil strengthens China ties in boost to Huawei

beijingwalker · Apr 15, 2023

Brazil strengthens China ties in boost to Huawei

14 APR 2023

China and Brazil reportedly entered into an agreement to collaborate on semiconductor development, cybersecurity and 5G, a tie-up which could smoothen Huawei’s ambitions to build a new chip plant in the country

During Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s official visit to China, the two states inked 15 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) around telecommunications, digital developments and satellite monitoring, Reuters reported.

Celso Amorim, Lula’s foreign policy advisor told Reuters Brazil “will not veto the installation of a Chinese semiconductor factory” and that the country is open to developing the technology with China, despite interventions by US governments to stop it from buying Huawei’s 5G equipment.

The outlet also reported Lula toured the Huawei research campus in Shanghai and tried some of the technology giant’s products including its VR wearable.

Huawei currently has two telecommunications equipment plants in Brazil’s financial hub Sao Paolo, one of which is a smart factory launched in March 2022.

The US government has made efforts to stop Brazilian operators from using Huawei’s 5G technology in recent years.

Scrutiny on Huawei globally shows no sign of reducing. The US is reportedly considering a full ban on local companies selling to the Chinese vendor over surveillance claims, while Germany is also reportedly mulling tighter restrictions.