Margaret Myers, director of the Asia & Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue: “China and its companies have prioritized relations with Brazil since the onset of China’s enhanced economic engagement with the region, starting in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Brazil was seen as a natural (read: sizable) market for Chinese goods, and a critical supplier of soy, which China has required in growing quantities in recent years—mostly for use as animal feed. Brazil has also been a top market for Chinese investors in the region, whether in traditional sectors (agriculture and oil and gas) or emerging ones, such as telecommunications, electric vehicles and other higher-tech manufacturing. Brazil and China additionally worked to align their international priorities during Lula’s first administration, as they joined forces on BRICS development. In general, the drivers of China-Brazil relations haven’t changed all that much in recent years. Trade continues to…”