On Thursday, Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao signed agreements that would make relations between the new nations as that of a "global strategic partnership" that would encourage trade between the two countries and investments in mining, industrial, aviation, and infrastructure sectors.
China is the world's second largest economy and Brazil's biggest export market. Rousseff has been a major proponent of China purchasing more manufactured goods from Brazil as the largest South American nation aims to lessen its dependence on sales of raw materials, oil and soybeans.
Also Thursday, the China and Brazil signed a current swap deal that would allow each country to give out loans in their local currencies.