Roberto Abdenur is a former Brazilian ambassador to China, and is a member of the Brazilian Center of International Relationships. [Roberto Abdenur provided the photo]

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Brazil and China, and a former Brazilian ambassador to China says the two countries can get closer through more bilateral trade and people-to-people exchanges.

"I hope that China and Brazil's people get closer. As the world's important developing countries, the two can work together to do more for the world," said Roberto Abdenur in a recent interview with China Daily. "I've always loved and admired the Chinese people. I hope they can live a more prosperous life and have more dreams come true."

Abdenur is a member of the Brazilian Center of International Relationships. After serving as Brazil's ambassador to China from January 1989 to June 1993, he worked in Germany, Australia and the United States, and also served as Brazil's deputy foreign minister.

Before going to China as an ambassador, Abdenur visited the country twice, accompanying Brazilian senior officials in 1982 and 1984.

Abdenur said he is amazed at the profound changes that have occurred in China since it pursued an opening-up and reform policy in 1979. He said that when he visited China during the 1980s, it was in the early stages of reform and people led a simple but low standard of living. In 1993 when he finished his term as ambassador, Shanghai and other large cities in China were making huge strides in their development. However, he said that although the size of the middle-class increased, the general population was still not very rich.

When he returned to China in 1997, he said changes that China had undergone in just four years were unbelievable to him. Now, China is the world's second-largest economy and Brazil's most important trading partner.  

"I really could not imagine such a profound change," he said.

Abdenur said that the founding of the People's Republic of China has been one of the most important events in the 20th century.

"If you look at the changes in the daily life of Chinese people, the status of women and the overall cultural development in China, you will find that the country has chosen a correct pathway for development," he said.

Now under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is showing it is firmly against corruption and is strengthening the power of government, distributing national wealth and promoting urbanization, he said. "All of these signal the continuous development of the country," he added.

As an example of bilateral cooperation, Abdenur mentioned the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) program, a joint committee for construction, launching and operation of satellites established by Brazil and China in 1988.

The program, which is considered a model for South-South cooperation, broke the monopoly of launching sensing satellites into space by other foreign countries.

Under the program, Brazil and China are working together to gather information about a number of areas, including the Earth's environment, agriculture, urban development and water pollution.

When he was an ambassador in China, Abdenur said he played an active role in the progarm's implementation and is happy to see the program's continuous development. Last November, China and Brazil signed the "2013-2022 Space Cooperation Plan" between China's National Space Administration and the Brazilian Space Agency.

He said that in international affairs China is showing itself to be a responsible big country, and that cooperation and dialogue between the two countries is proceeding smoothly within the framework of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the G20, the forum of governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.

Diplomatic relations between Brazil and China have gone beyond being bilateral, Abdenur said, noting that the two countries are working together on global issues, including in the fight against poverty and safeguarding world peace and security.