Brazil Rises as China’s Second-Largest Global Investment Target

Brazil has become the second-largest destination for Chinese investment worldwide in 2025, according to the American Enterprise Institute’s China Global Investment Tracker.

In the first six months alone, Chinese firms invested $22 billion abroad, with Brazil taking $2.2 billion, or 10% of the total. Only Indonesia received more.

The numbers show how far Brazil has moved into China’s economic orbit. Data from the Brazil-China Business Council reveal that between 2007 and 2023, Chinese companies poured $73.3 billion into 264 Brazilian projects.

Nearly half went into electricity, $33.2 billion in all, while manufacturing absorbed $5.3 billion, infrastructure $3.3 billion, and agriculture $2.4 billion.

These investments target Brazil’s most strategic sectors. State Grid of China now controls CPFL Energia, a key player in the national power grid.

COFCO, China’s state-owned grain trader, is building a massive new export terminal in Santos that will nearly triple annual capacity by 2026, locking in Brazil as a reliable food supplier.

China rewires Brazil’s economy and supply chains

The auto sector follows the same pattern. BYD started assembling electric cars in Camaçari, Bahia, in July 2025, beginning with imported kits but planning to scale production.

This positions Chinese automakers to challenge U.S. and European rivals in Latin America. Finance and telecoms add another layer. In May 2025, Brazil and China renewed a currency swap worth 190 billion yuan, making trade easier without relying on the dollar.

Huawei continues to supply equipment for Brazilian telecom networks, unlike in most Western markets where it faces bans. At the political level, the alignment is clear.

In August, Xi Jinping told Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that China was ready to deepen cooperation and strengthen the Global South.

Lula highlighted projects in health, energy, digital economy, and satellites. The United States still leads in total investments in Brazil, with $272.9 billion by 2023 compared with China’s $53.2 billion.

But the pace and direction of Chinese capital tell the deeper story: Beijing is securing long-term control in food, energy, transport, and technology, sectors that shape the future of Brazil’s economy.

For the rest of the world, this means that supply chains for food, power, and industry are being rewired through South America’s largest country — and increasingly under China’s watch.

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