Chinese and Brazilian officials meeting in Brasilia have agreed that their countries should further develop their strategic partnership, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency says a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, Yang Jiechi, and the head of Brazil’s Institutional Security Office, Augusto Heleno, met while Mr Yang was in Brasilia for a meeting of officials of the BRICS bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The report quotes Mr Yang as saying Sino-Brazilian ties have grown steadily, and that Sino-Brazilian cooperation has set an example for other major developing countries to follow.

Mr Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, said that China was willing to mesh its Belt and Road scheme with the Brazilian development plan.

The report quotes Mr Heleno as saying Brazil is amenable to greater engagement with China in trade, in building infrastructure, in farming, and in science and technology.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will visit China this week and Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Brazil next month to attend a summit for BRICS leaders, Xinhua says.