A Brazilian authority on China says businesspeople in her country need to better understand the Asian commercial mindset if they want to increase their market share, Agência Brasil reports.

The news agency quotes Thais Moretz of the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments as saying expansion into Asian markets, especially the Chinese market, requires more than massive output.

Ms Moretz says, for example, that Brazil could export more kinds of agricultural product to China, rather than just soybeans. “In China, networking and local relationships are crucial,” she says.

Asian countries bought 38 percent of Brazilian exports in last month, and China alone bought 25.5 percent, Agência Brasil says.