On April 24, 2026, “the 13th ‘Meet SDGs’ Forum: Dialogue with Brazilian Minister Esther Dweck”, was held at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (Tsinghua SPPM). This forum was hosted by the Tsinghua SPPM, organized by the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University (Tsinghua SDG Institute), and supported by the Tanoto Foundation China. In this forum, Esther Dweck, Minister of Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services of Brazil, gave a keynote address on the theme of Transformation of the State and Brazilian Economy. Zhu Xufeng, Professor and Dean of Tsinghua SPPM, Executive Director of Tsinghua SDG Institute, delivered welcome remarks. Marcos Bezerra Abbott Galvao, Ambassador of Brazil to China; Wu Wei, Secretary-General of the Tanoto Foundation China; Betania Lemos, President of the Brazilian National School of Public Administration (ENAP); Elisa Vieira Leonel, Secretary of Coordination and Governance of State-Owned Enterprises of Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services of Brazil; Joao Batista do Nascimento Magalhaes, Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of Brazil to China, and other representatives from Brazilian government attended the event. The forum was moderated by Zhu Junming, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Tsinghua SPPM, Vice Director of Tsinghua SDG Institute. As one of the events marking the 115th anniversary of Tsinghua University, the forum attracted active participation from a large number of faculty members and students from universities.
Welcome Remarks by Prof. Zhu Xufeng
Firstly, on behalf of the host organisations, Professor Zhu Xufeng extended a warm welcome to Minister Esther Dweck and her delegation from Brazil on their visit to Tsinghua University. He pointed out that China and Brazil are two major developing countries with significant influence in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, and important members of BRICS and among the Global South cooperation. In recent years, China-Brazil relations have deepened in areas such as trade and economic exchanges, infrastructure, green energy, sustainable development, and public governance. Moreover, Brazilian President Lula has visited China multiple times, which has strongly promoted the continuous upgrading of bilateral relations. In this context, Tsinghua SPPM and Tsinghua SDG Institute have actively promoted the partnership between the two countries. He noted that in October last year, the first “Digital and Sustainability Leadership” training programme was jointly hosted by Tsinghua SPPM and ENAP, and co-organised by Tsinghua SDG Institute and Executive Education Center of Tsinghua SPPM. 25 senior officials from 9 Brazilian ministries and their affiliated agencies gathered at Tsinghua University to participate in the programme, which received high recognition from all the Brazilian participants. In July this year, the two sides will further promote their cooperation and hold a training programme for Brazilian government officials again. This fully demonstrates the continuously deepening partnership between our institutions.
Keynote Speech by Minister Esther Dweck
In the keynote speech, Minister Dweck first reviewed the historical context of Brazil’s political and economic development. She pointed out that since the 1930s, Brazil has experienced a developmental phase characterised by import substitution, industrialisation, the establishment of labour laws, the development of state-owned firms and the formation of national bureaucratic system, which helps achieve rapid growth and urbanisation. After entering the 1980s, factors such as the external debt crisis, high inflation, financial and commercial opening, and privatisation reforms led Brazil into a period of slow growth. From 2003, thanks to the commodity boom and expanded social policies, Brazil made progress in poverty reduction, increased consumption, and social protection, but also experienced multiple shocks, including the global financial crisis, the pandemic, political crises, and fiscal consolidation.
Minister Dweck stated that promoting sustainable and inclusive development in Brazil is a crucial task at present. She believes that long-term development cannot only focus on economic growth; it should also simultaneously promote structural changes to address the two major challenges of social inequality and climate change. Brazil will achieve this target through five development initiatives: Tax Reform, New Growth Acceleration Plan, “New Industrial Brazil” Plan, Plan for Ecological Transformation, and Transforming the State for the Future. The “New Industrial Brazil” Plan focuses on sustainable agriculture and food security, resilient health economic-industrial complex (HEIC), urban infrastructure and transportation, industrial digitalisation, bioeconomy, energy transition, and technologies related to national sovereignty and defense. The Plan for Ecological Transformation revolves around sustainable finance, energy transition, the circular economy, green infrastructure, and climate governance, striving to integrate environmental sustainability with economic growth, technological innovation, and social justice. Through the design and implementation of these development initiatives, Brazil has made some progress in inclusive development, including reducing unemployment, increasing residents’ income, and reducing poverty and inequality.
Finally, Minister Dweck pointed out that Brazil still faces multiple challenges, including high interest rates, household debt burdens, insufficient investment, and international uncertainty. High interest rates suppress investment and consumption, household debt burdens also affect the recovery of domestic demand. Even though investment has recovered to some extent, it is still insufficient to support long-term growth and re-industrialisation. Meanwhile, global economic stagnation, social inequality, climate change, geopolitical tensions, and technological competition require Brazil to further enhance its national capacity, in order to better coordinate growth, inclusiveness, and sustainable transformation. She emphasised that development requires a more strategic, innovative, and public-oriented nation. Brazil will continue to support its development goals through public sector reforms, industrial digital transformation, organizational innovation, and public procurement.
Q&A Session
Prof. Chen Ling exchanged with Minister Dweck
During the Q&A session, Professor Chen Ling with other faculties and students, engaged in in-depth discussions with Minister Dweck on issues such as investment in Brazil and China-Brazil cooperation in artificial intelligence and big data. Minister Dweck stated that Brazil welcomes foreign investment and looks forward to more Chinese companies establishing production capacity locally in Brazil, increasing added value and promoting technology transfer and R&D cooperation. She expressed that Brazil does not want foreign investment to remain merely in simple assembly, but rather hopes to promote the improvement of its domestic industrial capabilities through investment cooperation. Addressing potential future challenges in cooperation in artificial intelligence and big data, she stated that data security and sovereignty issues are crucial, but Brazil believes they can be resolved through secure and reliable cooperation mechanisms. She emphasized that China has accumulated rich experience in digital transformation and the application of public service technologies, and Brazil hopes to further strengthen cooperation with Chinese partners in areas such as AI infrastructure, data center construction, and digitalisation of public services.
Moderated by Assoc. Prof. Zhu Junming
Prof. Zhu presented poster to Minister Dweck
Group Photo
On-site Lecture
