On the evening of November 13, 2004, Chinese President Hu Jintao, who was on his state visit to Brazil, met with the Governor of Rio de Janeiro State Rosinha Garotinho.

Hu Jintao told Garotinho that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic ties. Over the past 30 years, the friendly cooperation between China and Brazil in various fields has scored satisfactory results. The two sides established strategic partnership, mutual political trust gets increasingly deepened, economic and trade cooperation develops rapidly and cooperation in aviation, aerospace and other high-tech areas scores one important achievement after another. Hu Jintao noted that yesterday he held fruitful talks and meetings with President Lula in Brasilia, the capital city, and the two sides signed a range of important cooperation documents on economy, trade, aerospace and tourism, which further enriches the connotations of China-Brazil mutually beneficial cooperation.

When talking about regional cooperation between the two countries, Hu Jintao appreciated the important role played by Rio de Janeiro State in the development process of China-Brazil ties. He said that as early as the beginning of the 1800s, the Chinese had started settling here. With the establishment of China-Brazil diplomatic ties and continuous expansion of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, many Chinese enterprises set up representative offices here. Rio de Janeiro becomes an important bridge for China-Brazil exchanges and cooperation. He hopes the government of Rio de Janeiro State and Chinese local governments can further enhance mutual understanding, jointly discuss new approaches and new areas for enhanced trade and mutual investment and tap potentials and expand cooperation. Hu Jintao also mentioned the Agreement on Tourism Cooperation just signed between China and Brazil, noting that China would like to take this as an opportunity to push for personnel exchanges and cooperation at all levels and in various fields so that people-to-people exchanges can become a positive enabling factor for the development of bilateral ties.

Garotinho said that in spite of the long distance between us, our two countries enjoy time-honored exchanges and profound friendship. The 30 years since the establishment of Brazil-China diplomatic ties witness the rapid development of the relations between Rio de Janeiro State and China. With the thriving development of China and deepening of Brazil-China strategic partnership, more opportunities for cooperation are emerging and Rio de Janeiro State will give full play to its own advantages in agriculture, IT, pharmacy and chemical industry in order to push for cooperation with China in an all-round manner.

Hu Jintao concluded his activities in Brasilia on the afternoon of the same day (local time) and come to Rio de Janeiro. Prior to departure from Brasilia, he met again with President Lula and their discussions focused on how to further expand and deepen China-Brazil mutual beneficial economic and trade cooperation.

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city of Brazil. Established in 1565, it served as the capital of Brazil from 1763 to 1960. It is one of Brazil's most economically developed cities, as well as an important transportation hub and financial and culture center.

In the morning of the same day, Hu Jintao also met in a cordial manner with the representatives of the staff of Chinese embassy in Brazil, Chinese-funded agencies and Chinese citizens living in Brazil.