From an aerial view, the winding Amazon River appears as a flowing jade necklace under the sunlight, with its tributaries crisscrossing and nourishing large areas of pristine tropical rainforest like blood vessels. Crossing the jungle, the plane landed in the core city of the Amazon rainforest hinterland - Manaus, the capital of the Amazon state in northwest Brazil. Since the Brazilian government established a free trade zone here in 1967, many Chinese companies have rooted themselves in the rainforest hinterland, helping the local area to embark on a green development path that benefits both ecology and economy. After driving for an hour from the airport, the Gree factory came into view. As one of the earliest Chinese companies to enter the Brazilian market, Gree Electric invested in building a factory in Manaus in 2001. It is reported that all air conditioners produced by the factory use environmentally friendly refrigerants, which not only have high energy efficiency, but also have zero damage to the ozone layer, practicing the concept of green, energy-saving, and sustainable development. Xu Yunxing, the head of the production department of Gree Electric Brazil Co., Ltd., told reporters that the factory currently has 6 production lines, including 4 for household air conditioning models and 2 for light commercial models. The annual production capacity can reach 2 million sets, and the market share ranks among the top in Brazil. Lonnie Olivera Costa has been working at Gree for 22 years as a factory production supervisor. In his view, Chinese companies setting up factories in the Manaus Free Trade Zone not only bring high-quality products and advanced technology, but also benefit local residents. This is my first job, from the early days of building my own factory to now, from assembly line operator to production supervisor, my life has been getting better year by year. ”Costa said, "Thanks to this job, I have the opportunity to experience rich culture and cutting-edge technology in China, which I never thought about before." On May 19th, workers from Gree Brazil factory welded condensers on the production line in Manaus, Brazil. Photo by Zhou Yongsui, Xinhua News Agency. Bosco Sariva, Director of the Manaus Free Trade Zone Supervision Bureau, told reporters that the free trade zone is the core force in protecting the Amazon rainforest. Industrial parks provide a large number of employment opportunities, avoiding deforestation caused by local residents engaging in agriculture and animal husbandry, and preserving 97% of the rainforest in the Amazon state. Saraiwa said, "Chinese enterprises cover all core industries in the free trade zone, such as air conditioning manufacturing. Manaus has become an important global production base. In addition, the entry of Chinese high-tech product production lines such as smartphones has significantly driven local employment growth and technological upgrading." Looking back at the process of Chinese mobile phone manufacturer OPPO entering the Brazilian market, from the project approval in 2023 to the determination of cooperative factories, to the first mobile phone being offline in April 2024, it only took less than half a year. Entering the workshop in the Manaus Free Trade Zone that produces OPPO mobile phone core component motherboards, one precision instrument after another is operating at high speed. The bare circuit board undergoes processes such as solder paste printing, component placement on a surface mount machine, and nitrogen reflow soldering, and is finally assembled into a mobile phone after passing inspection. Ma Baoyu, the Chinese operations manager of OPPO's Manaus factory in Brazil, told reporters that the company is rapidly improving the technical and project management abilities of local employees, enabling them to realize their self-worth in their work. I still remember when the first mobile phone went offline in April last year, local employees rushed to take photos as a souvenir, and production line employees also asked where they could buy OPPO phones. ”Adriano Cunia, the foreign operations director of the factory, said that the advanced technology brought by China can improve the production efficiency and product quality of the factory, especially the machines imported from China, which enable the factory to meet production standards and manufacture higher performance smartphones. 'Made in China' injects strong momentum into the development of the Manaus Free Trade Zone. In 2024, the Manaus Free Trade Zone set a record for the highest revenue in 58 years, and monthly data has continued to exceed the same period since the beginning of this year. We look forward to continuing to introduce Chinese technology and raw materials, consolidating the growth trend, creating more employment opportunities for the people, and adding more momentum to the green economy of the Amazon. China has always been an important partner for Brazil and Manaus. ”Sariva said. (New Society)