Brazil hopes to vigorously strengthen its strategic partnership with China, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday.

China is now Brazil's largest trading partner, but the potentials for their cooperation could be 10 times bigger than the current trade volume between the two countries, Lula said.

"Brazil-China cooperation is of strategic importance for both sides," Lula told Xinhua at a tourism conference. Lula said he was "very optimistic" about the prospects of the cooperation between his country and China.

Lula, who is scheduled to visit Beijing on Monday, said he hoped his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao could make a tour to Brazil within the year.

Government representatives and medical and tourism experts from more than 30 countries Thursday met in Brazil's tourist resort of Florianopolis for a two-day Global Travel and Tourism Summit.

Top on the agenda of the meeting will be the impacts of the current A/H1N1 virus on global tourism as well as sustainable development of the tourism industry.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2009)