Brazil and China are negotiating a fund to finance the development of green industries and renewable energy in both countries. The proposal is likely to be announced during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's visit to Beijing next week, although administration officials say some details still need to be worked out.

I don't know if it's possible to announce because these things are complicated, but the idea is to have a bilateral fund for investments in this area, said Celso Amorim, Mr. da Silva's chief foreign policy adviser.

Mr. Amorim said he hoped to strike a deal on renewable energy during Mr. da Silva's visit, which included a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Brazil's environment minister, Marina Silva, who will be part of Mr da Silva's delegation, said the new fund under discussion would be used to restore forests and develop a more sustainable economy, including the production of green hydrogen.

Ms Silva said our expectation is that we can develop a climate change agenda that is strategic to the world, as this is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. When Mr da Silva visited the White House last month, Brazil had already received commitments on climate policy and forest protection from the administration of US President Joe Biden. Ms Silva expects climate, forest conservation and biodiversity issues to be on the agenda more and more.

However, Ms Silva said China would not join the multibillion-dollar Amazon fund launched by Norway to finance sustainable development and protect the world's largest tropical rainforest, which Spain, France and the UK are considering joining.Editor/XingWentao