“Distant, yet friends”: the perspective of the print media on the rapprochement between Brazil and the People’s Republic of China in 1974

Abstract

In this article, we examine the repercussions of the establishment of diplomatic and trade relations between Brazil and the People’s Republic of China across different print media outlets in 1974. Drawing on specialized bibliography, we reflect on the governmental transition marked by the inauguration of General Ernesto Geisel, who adopted a policy of “responsible and ecumenical pragmatism” in foreign affairs, representing a relative break from the foreign policy of his military predecessors. In this context, regarding the rapprochement between the Brazilian and Chinese governments, understanding “public opinion”—from its conceptual foundations to its concrete manifestations—is crucial to the historical moment under study, as it was marked by strict censorship and repression of the press. Through historical documentary analysis of the newspapers Jornal do Brasil and Opinião, as well as the magazine Manchete, we seek to understand how the birth of the Brazil–China relations was portrayed from distinct editorial and ideological perspectives.