Brazilian Sports Minister George Hilton and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng signed on Tuesday an agreement that will see "sporting cooperation" between the two countries in badminton and table tennis, according to Moura, Coletta & Martins of ESTADÃO. The Chinese government will invest approximately R$1.7M ($565,000) in "training 40 Brazilian athletes and coaches in Chinese territories -- 20 from table tennis and 20 from badminton." The training, which "should occur this year and in 2016, aiming at preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games," will last 60 days for badminton players and 30 days for table tennis players (ESTADÃO, 5/19). MAQUINA DO ESPORTE's Adalberto Leister Filho reported the Chinese government "will be responsible for all the Brazilian athletes' expenses: round-trip plane tickets, housing, food, training facilities and the logistics of transportation." The Brazilian government, in conjunction with the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), Brazilian Badminton Federation (CBBd) and the Brazilian Table Tennis Federation (CBTM) "will select coaches and athletes" who will travel to China to train (MAQUINA DO ESPORTE, 5/19). Hilton said, "It's an important moment for us during the preparation for the Games. ... I see this as the start of a very close relationship with China that will help us also to develop other sports in which they have been advancing. We're going to start with these 40 [athletes and coaches], but the tendency will be to increase" (Ministério do Esporte).
