China, Brazil unveil multi-billion-dollar deals

Brasília

CHINESE Premier Li Keqiang lifted the wraps on Tuesday on a multibillion-dollar series of trade and investment deals with Brazil, as Beijing looks to invest US$53 billion in South America's largest economy.

The news unveiled at the start of Mr Li's first official visit to Latin America is a huge boon for Brazil as it endures a fifth straight year of low growth, after a period of rapid expansion fuelled by Asian demand for commodities that has since slowed.

Mr Li's host, President Dilma Rousseff, hopes Brazil can direct Chinese cash to overhaul decaying infrastructure as the country's tourist magnet Rio de Janeiro prepares to host South America's first-ever Olympics next year.

Headlining 35 deals on Mr Li's first official visit to Latin America were a pair of finance and cooperation agreements worth US$7 billion for Brazil's state-owned oil firm …