Trade War Is a Trade Opportunity for Brazil, São Paulo Mayor Says
By Ren Huilan and Wang Xintong
China-U.S. trade frictions have created opportunities for Brazil to partner with Beijing in clean energy, public transit and urban development, said São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes.
Speaking on the sidelines of a high-profile economic summit in Shanghai on Wednesday, Nunes told Caixin that tariff escalations between Washington and Beijing have opened gaps in global trade that Brazil intends to fill.
Nunes’ first visit to China focused on deepening ties between São Paulo — the most populous city in the Americas and Brazil’s financial and industrial hub — and its sister city Shanghai.
He emphasized his commitment to electrifying 100% of São Paulo’s bus fleet by 2032. “Each electric bus can save 35,000 liters of traditional fuel per year,” Nunes noted.
To meet that target, São Paulo has already partnered with Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) giant BYD Co. Ltd. “BYD has a very strong presence in São Paulo. Not only are the electric buses from BYD, but many private cars in the city are also BYD models,” Nunes said.
Financial backing from Chinese institutions is critical, the mayor said. He has plans to negotiate a 100 million yuan (nearly $14 million) credit line with Bank of China Ltd. to fund the bus purchases.
Brazil’s federal government has pledged 10.6 billion reais ($2.1 billion) to electrify public transit across 98 cities, aiming to roll out over 2,500 new electric buses.
In parallel with infrastructure upgrades, São Paulo is pushing ahead with its “smart city” program. It’s already installed over 25,000 AI-powered surveillance cameras from Chinese firms such as Hangzhou Hikvision Technology Co. Ltd. and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd., Nunes said. These systems, connected to Brazil’s national criminal database, have aided in the capture of more than 1,000 fugitives in six months alone.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)
caixinglobal.com is the English-language online news portal of Chinese financial and business news media group Caixin. Global Neighbours is authorized to reprint this article.
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