Brazil could attract more Chinese investment by simplifying procedures for opening new businesses in the country, former Brazilian Ambassador to China Clodoaldo Hugueney said in an interview.

He stated the China-Brazil relationship has been too focused on trade.

“China’s urbanisation process is advancing, which will make people eat more agricultural products, meat [and consume] fruit juices,” Mr Hugueney told Brazilian daily newspaper Folha de São Paulo. “That opens a great opportunity for Brazil’s agribusiness sector, not only for exports, but also for investment in restaurants and supermarkets,” he said.

The peak by value of Brazilian exports to China has passed due to falling commodity prices and the slower growth of China’s economy, Mr Hugueney said. Trade between China and Brazil was down 6 percent year-on-year in 2014, with Brazilian exports down 12 percent, official data show.

“You must make China a priority in business, just as Germany, United States, France and [South] Korea did,” he added.