Xin Xiangyang, President of the Academy of Marxism, Led a Delegation to Brazil and Peru for Academic Exchanges
From April 16 to 24, 2025, Xin Xiangyang, Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), led a five-member delegation to visit Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil, as well as Lima, the capital of Peru. The delegation included researchers Liu Xukuan, Liu Zhichang, and Liu Ailing, and Associate Researcher Lou Yu from the Institute of Marxism Studies. During the visit, the delegation received a friendly reception from the Communist Party of Brazil and the Communist Party of Peru. They engaged in in-depth exchanges with the Communist Parties of both countries, as well as multiple academic research institutions and think tanks, holding several rounds of candid academic symposia. The delegation also signed letters of intent for cooperation with relevant Brazilian institutions, laying a solid foundation for further strengthening cooperation between CASS, Chinese academic institutions, and the Communist Parties, research institutes, and think tanks of Brazil and Peru.
I. Intensive Academic Exchanges
In Rio de Janeiro, the delegation first visited Fluminense Federal University (UFF) and held a symposium with Fernanda Pimentel, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Eder Fernandes Monica, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Niterói, UFF served as a venue where the delegation and foreign experts discussed a series of topics regarding democratic politics and the rule of law, including China's whole-process people's democracy, the comprehensive construction of a socialist country under the rule of law, and social governance.
In Lima, the delegation held a symposium with the Peruvian Communist Party (Unity) [PCP-U]. Participants included Domingo Cabrera Toro, General Secretary of the PCP-U, alongside eight members of the PCP-U Central Committee, including Marcelino Pauca and Ricardo Parlotti, and Oliver Barrientos, Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Youth of Peru. Representatives of the PCP-U shared their insights and expressed gratitude to Chinese national leader President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CPC) for the opening of the Port of Chancay. Delegation leader Xin Xiangyang introduced the basic profile of the Institute of Marxism Studies at CASS, the great achievements of China in the New Era, and the significant efforts made by the CPC to strengthen international cooperation and safeguard a new international political and economic order.
The delegation also visited the Peruvian Institute of Public Policy (IPPP) in Lima and held a symposium with its experts. Founded in 2012, this institute primarily consists of left-wing scholars and focuses on public policy research and providing advisory recommendations to the Peruvian government and relevant departments. Ten representatives from the Peruvian side attended, including Ricardo López Risso, Director of the IPPP. The Peruvian experts emphasized that the efficacy of the CPC’s governance, the achievements of Chinese-path modernization, and China's great successes in economy and technological innovation are worthy of study by Peru. They noted that Peru has always regarded China as a banner, a benchmark, and a model for development.
The delegation held talks with Alberto Moreno Rojas, President of the Communist Party of Peru (Red Fatherland) [PCP-PR], and Arturo Ayala, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and International Relations Secretary of the PCP-PR. Moreno first visited China in December 1966, traveling for several months and participating in many exchange activities, where he had the honor of meeting Chairman Mao. He spoke with high praise for the great progress of socialist China and expressed indignation at the tariff policies implemented by the United States. Recalling his many visits to China, Moreno remarked with emotion: "Every visit to China signifies a discovery; China's changes and achievements are impressive. The speed with which China achieves results is astonishing." during the exchange, Moreno also mused: "The CPC grew from just over 50 people to accomplish such a massive undertaking; why can we not do the same? The achievements of the CPC are the best inspiration for us."
The delegation also met with Meng Kexin, Editor-in-Chief of the Peruvian newspaper La Gaceta (公言报) and representative of the Peru office of China Today magazine, to learn about the life and work of the Chinese community in Peru and his contributions to promoting cultural exchanges between Peru and China.
During this trip, the delegation signed a letter of intent for cooperation with the Mauricio Grabois Foundation. This foundation is one of the most important think tanks under the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), chaired by Walter Sorrentino, Vice President of the PCdoB. The foundation oversees institutions such as the PCdoB National Political Training School, the academic journal Princípios, and the PCdoB Center for Historical Documentation. Walter Sorrentino noted that given the signing of the letter of intent between the two institutions, he holds high expectations for this meeting and requested that the delegation convey his regards to Dr. Gao Xiang, President of CASS.
The delegation visited the news website "Brasil 247." José Reinaldo Carvalho, the editor-in-chief of the international section of "Brasil 247," has visited Chinese academic institutions many times and participated in numerous academic activities in China. In recent years, he has published several articles in "Brasil 247" and other media outlets to actively promote and explain the achievements of contemporary China.
II. Observations and Reflections on the Visit
China and Brazil are the largest "Global South" countries in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres respectively. Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America, maintaining a massive volume of trade with China, with even greater space for future cooperation. In Peru, there is a strong demand for strengthening multi-dimensional cooperation with China across all levels, from the public to the government, and from the Communist Party to national think tanks. Lima is a city friendly to China, home to 5,000 Chinese restaurants, and the Chinese community enjoys a high social status in Peru. While the delegation was walking to a meeting, a Lima police officer friendly stopped them to take a commemorative photo, repeatedly saying the name of Chinese President Xi Jinping, showing palpable respect for the Chinese leader.
As emerging economies and developing countries, China, Brazil, and Peru share highly complementary resource endowments, industrial structures, and development strategies. In recent years, cooperation in trade, investment, and infrastructure has yielded significant results. China has been Peru's largest trading partner for ten consecutive years, with total trade volume reaching 39.758 billion USD in 2024. In particular, the construction and operation of the Port of Chancay—as the new starting point of the "Inca Trail of the New Era" [1]—has brought new hope to the Peruvian people and significantly shortened the trade route between China and South America. The Port of Chancay holds landmark significance for South America’s outreach to the Asia-Pacific region.
Personnel in both Brazil and Peru showed a high willingness to further strengthen economic cooperation and trade ties with China. It is expected that through academic exchanges and trade, economic cooperation and communication between China-Brazil and China-Peru will be further promoted. This includes facilitating the diversification of trade and investment, strengthening cooperation in fields such as transportation and energy, and deepening collaboration in the green economy and technological innovation.
In the face of changes in the global governance system and new trends and challenges in regional development, strengthening inter-party cooperation and exchange is both an important lever for deepening China-Latin America relations and a practical path for promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. The Communist Parties of Brazil and Peru pay close attention to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, speak highly of the great achievements of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and have an urgent desire to strengthen interactions with the CPC and theoretical and academic exchanges with institutions such as CASS.
In the future, it is necessary to further improve multi-level inter-party dialogue mechanisms, strengthen cooperation between political parties and related academic institutions, and enhance the joint training of youth and talent to cultivate a new generation of people who know and are friendly toward China. Furthermore, we should promote cultural exchanges between China, Brazil, and Peru. These nations possess rich historical and cultural heritage and diverse modern cultural forms. China is recognized globally as one of the four great ancient civilizations, while Peru is often called the "fifth great ancient civilization." [2] While recent years have seen positive progress in art performances, educational cooperation, and tourism, there remains significant room to improve the depth, breadth, and innovativeness of cultural exchange. Looking forward, it is necessary to build multi-layered cultural exchange mechanisms, deepen educational cooperation, innovate collaboration in the fields of arts and cultural heritage, and promote cultural tourism.