Brazilian businesspeople want to increase their exports to China, a market that has accounted for one-quarter of the growth in international trade in the past 17 years, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency quotes the president of the Brazilian import-export promotion agency, Roberto Jaguaribe, as saying: “The protectionist trend in the world shows the need to internationalise Brazilian companies. And China can be a crucial agent to make this process happen.”

Mr Jaguaribe was speaking in Rio de Janeiro, at the 36th National Meeting for Foreign Trade, or Enaex, the most important Brazilian forum for discussing foreign trade.