Brazil: The Chinese Embassy's no.2 diplomat will be interviewed in prime time TV tonight, reflecting a historic shift in Chinese public diplomacy in Latin America. No longer faceless bureaucrats, the new generation of diplomats is younger, accessible & speak impeccable Portuguese https://twitter.com/EmbaixadaChina/status/1248412882552770560

Until very recently, it would've been almost unthinkable for a Chinese gov official to go on TV & freely discuss politics. Newspaper interviews occurred sometimes, but where very formal & not very interesting. China's new diplomats, by contrast, don't shy away from controversy.

Last year, Qu Yuhui lauded Brazil's environmental record at the height of the Amazon fires, in an interview with O Globo. Last week, China's Consul General wrote an extremely harsh op-ed criticizing the president's son, Eduardo Bolsonaro.

China's government realized that the traditional approach of seeking to remain off the public radar is no longer an option. Just like all over the world, China will now constantly be at the center of Brazil's public debate. Not joining the debate is no longer an option.

From an academic point of view, it also marks the end of a fairly technical debate dominated by nerds and bureaucrats. Until recently, Brazil-China ties were a niche topic that received very little attention. Now, it'll become just as politicized as Brazil-US ties.

Just like Brazilian politicians, journalists & academics who promoted stronger ties to the US were called 'entreguistas', the same will happen with those advocating a rapprochement to China. Those advocating good ties to both (like me!) will be called entreguistas AND comunistas.

The comments below nicely show the extremely politicized dynamic mentioned above. Some ask “how much do the Chinese pay you?” and some believe this thread is anti-China.