China premier 'savior' to Brazil government: newspaper

Brazil is placing its bets on Chinese investment to fund infrastructure projects that the government cannot afford, the newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo reported on Tuesday.

This week's visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is considered an opportunity, as investments are said to be around $53 billion.

With the funding, the government can complete major infrastructure work such as railways and hydroelectric power plants.

China is considered something of a savior at a time when Brazil is facing economic and political troubles. Brazil's growth was almost nonexistent last year; inflation is on the rise; and the political opposition is gaining strength against President Dilma Rousseff.

Other daily newspapers have stressed the importance of Li's visit, noting that the trip came less than a year after President Xi Jinping visited Brazil for the BRICS Summit.

The Rural Channel website highlighted an agreement that will allow Brazil to export beef to China again. Exports of beef had been suspended in 2012, after a case of mad cow disease in the country. Brazil is a leading meat producer that would welcome a return to the Chinese market.

The daily Folha de Sao Paulo highlighted a transoceanic railway to connect Brazil and Peru, but stated that the project has generated more enthusiasm in Peru than in Brazil.