China Buys Brazil’s Soy and Beef – Not Its Loyalty
By
Matias Spektor, Guilherme Fasolin, Enrico Recco
A survey shows commercial dependence has not led to political alignment.
SÃO PAULO—For years, the conventional read on Brazil’s agricultural heartland has been to follow trade flows. If China buys its soy and beef, the reasoning goes, the eleven producing states must lean toward Beijing. Still, a survey about the political inclinations of the region, known as the agricultural frontier, shows that the reasoning is wrong. China has been Brazil's largest trading partner since 2009, and bilateral trade reached a record high of $171 billion last year, according to the Brazil-China Business Council (CEBC). Brazil exported roughly $100 billion to the...
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