The government of Brazil expects the country to have a trade surplus of US$60 billion or more this year, largely because of trade with China, the presidential website says.

According to a written statement posted on the website, trade with China accounted for 30 percent of the value of Brazilian trade in the first nine months of this year.

China bought 78 percent of the main Brazilian export, crushed soybean – or about US$18 billion worth.

China was also among the main buyers of Brazilian iron ore, crude oil and pulp.

“Most of our purchases from China are of technology-intensive products, such as printed circuits and telephone parts, receiver and transmitter parts and other manufactured goods”, the website says.