China and Brazil will deploy radar systems on a new satellite, but agree that the device will not have a military function.
Production of CBERS-6 will be discussed during President Lula's trip to Beijing in 13 days.
Sputnik - The production of CBERS-6 will be discussed during President Lula's trip to Beijing in 13 days. Until then, details of the project are being finalized between Chinese and Brazilian experts.
At the end of February, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos, told Sputnik that Brazil intended to begin building a new satellite for the CBERS Earth Resources Satellite Program with China within six months.
CBERS is a technological cooperation program between Beijing and Brasilia, which had its first satellite launch, CBERS-1, in 1999, and has since had more than four officially launched.
The novelty of this upcoming production model is that it will come with radar, something that didn't exist in previous designs. However, the understanding between Brazilians and Chinese is that the new generation of devices will not have military functions, reports Jamil Chade's column on UOL.
During President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's visit to China, the satellite will be discussed. Sources from the Presidential Palace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the topic will be on the president's agenda during his visits to Beijing and Shanghai between March 28 and 30.
The trip will also include several members of the government, among them Minister Luciana Santos, according to media reports.
In a document prepared by the Workers' Party transition team, the idea of resuming cooperation with Beijing in satellite production was already highlighted as a priority. Among the suggestions to the new government, the team, composed of diplomats, former ministers, and experts, advocated "evaluating the possibility of resuming space cooperation with China."
The columnist emphasizes that, from the Chinese perspective, one of the objectives is to demonstrate to the new Brazilian government that aligning with Beijing's interests will bring advantages to the country.
This, coupled with the absence of major announcements from the White House during Lula's trip to Washington in February, reinforced the idea that a relationship with China could be an important strategy for the next four years.