A relevância do Programa China-Brazil Earth-Resources Satellite (CBERS) (1988-2023) e seus assimétricos benefícios tecnológicos entre os Estados cooperantes: um estudo à luz das teorias do imperialismo e marxista da dependência.

Abstract

The subject of this research is the China-Brazil Earth-Resources Satellite (CBERS) technical-scientific cooperation agreement, covering the years 1988-2023, within the context of China's insertion into the global economic-geopolitical landscape. The general objective is to conduct a critical study of this agreement in the context of China's global insertion, aiming to understand its limitations, shortcomings, potentials, and contradictions, considering Brazil's own strategic interests. To achieve this, we rely on a theoretical framework guided by Lenin's Marxist Theory of Imperialism and authors who have updated this theory, as well as the Marxist Theory of Dependency, with its classical and contemporary authors, along with those who specifically address China. The method employed in this research process was the case study method, operationalized in light of Marxist methodology. Inspired by the methodological path taken by Karl Marx, we aimed to conduct a critical reading of the vast bibliographic material already written on the subject in question—both from a theoretical-methodological and empirical perspective—through the analysis of official documents. We also sought data available online from Brazilian federal and state institutions, the Chinese state, independent research institutes, national and Chinese news sites, among others. We gathered both qualitative and quantitative data, engaging in a dialectical interaction between the empirical data found and the adopted theoretical framework. In a context of significant Chinese scientific and technological advancement in various fields, and also within a scenario shaped by technological warfare primarily between China and the USA, the Chinese state has signed numerous important technical-scientific agreements with Brazil. Among these agreements, the CBERS Program is the longest-running, having completed 36 years. This program has already placed six satellites in orbit. It is also noteworthy that the program in question has spanned various Brazilian governments over the past 36 years, including the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who initially presented an anti-China rhetoric. Despite the cooperation agreement in question is commonly seen as a successful case of South-South relations we argue that it actually has characteristics of a North-South relationship, due to the fact that there was no transfer of sensitive technology from China to Brazil. We also highlight that Brazil transferred important techniques, technologies, and knowledge to China, playing a crucial role in the evolution of the Chinese space program. Furthermore, we understand that CBERS was not able to bring about structural changes to the Brazilian Space Program. The absence of a national project in Brazil strategically conditioned the country's behavior in the Agreement and led to the relevance and potential of CBERS not being fully exploited structurally and qualitatively.