China through the eyes of a Brazilian trainee

"I will definitely visit China again if I have the chance," said Claudia Januzzi, chairperson of the association for Brazilian attendees of Chinese training programs, when talking about her visit to China at the beginning of the year.

In February this year, Januzzi came to China to participate in a human resource development program, as part of China's foreign aid efforts. When the two-week training program concluded, the Brazilian trainees expressed their hope to continue to learn from China's development experiences and promote friendly communications between the two countries.

Against that background, the association for Brazilian attendees of Chinese training programs was launched at the beginning of April. Members of the association come from various backgrounds in Brazil, including political and academic circles, and wish to contribute to the bilateral exchanges of the two countries, she said.

Januzzi has attended three online training seminars hosted by the Chinese government. And then she was finally able to visit China and see the country with her own eyes in February. She couldn’t stop talking about the visit despite it being just two weeks long. "We had thorough communication with trainees from other countries on topics such as international development assistance, cross-border e-commerce, trade promotion and poverty alleviation. We also visited a lot of places and witnessed how amazing China is," she said.

In Beijing, Januzzi visited historical sites including the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. But what impressed her most was a little village in Yanqing district called Lipao village. The village was full of vitality with the sound development of local fruit-tree economy, tourism and the B&B industry. To her, this is a typical example of China's rural vitalization strategy. During the course, she learned about China's targeted poverty alleviation strategy, policies and practices, which led to the country's success in lifting people out of poverty. "It was not simply about giving money and resources. Instead, it was teaching people how to pursue wealth,' she said, "China's poverty alleviation practice is to teach people how to fish, not simply to just give them fish."

In Lipao village, Januzzi and other trainees also visited the village committee, where she was amazed by the digital level of China's village governance. "From the big digital screen, the staff can learn the real-time situation of the village roads and orchards. Very efficient," she said.

When visiting the Haikou comprehensive free trade zone in South China's Hainan province, Januzzi was impressed by the clarity of China's urban development planning, which takes into account multiple factors such as location and resources. "China's development in many aspects is beyond the imagination of me and many other Brazilians," she said, "Brazil should really learn from China's development experience."

Januzzi started her story with China long before attending the training programs. Back when she was a consultant in the Rio de Janeiro State Government, she often worked with enterprises and cultural groups from China. At a recently-concluded trade fair between Brazil and China in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes, came and had in-depth exchanges with his Chinese counterparts. "This is an effective way to promote Brazil-China exchanges and I hope for more local cooperation between the two countries," Januzzi said.

Noting that China has been Brazil's biggest trading partner for 14 consecutive years and a major source of direct investment to Brazil, and has been engaged in bilateral cooperation ranging from manufacturing and energy to agriculture and infrastructure, Januzzi vowed that the association will work jointly with its Chinese friends to elevate Brazil-China relations to a higher level.