SAO PAULO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The partnership between China and Brazil is win-win and long-term, a Brazilian business veteran in the animal protein sector has said.

"Brazil provides China with good and safe meat products to complement China's domestic supply in a sustainable way, and it's a win-win cooperation," Ricardo Joao Santin, president of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

China is one of the most significant markets for Brazil's poultry and pork products.

Having been in the industry for 13 years, Santin believes that the "strong, complementary" cooperation between the two countries in the food sector has established a trustworthy and sustainable partnership.

As the world's major agri-products exporter, Brazil's agribusiness sector experienced a rough 2021 due to hiking soy and corn prices and logistics obstacles induced by the pandemic. The poultry and pork sector was no exception.

Members of the ABPA have invested over 1 billion reais (approximately 190 million U.S. dollars) to ensure the safety and hygiene of their meat and egg products since the beginning of the pandemic.

With some 140 members from the entire poultry, pork and egg agribusiness production chain, the ABPA aims to promote sound international trade practices in the poultry and pork farming sector and bolster food security.

"I have a personal statement for my work that is 'there should be no border for food,'" said Santin.

The ABPA assigned its first representative in China three years ago, aiming to "fulfill the Chinese market's demand and understand it better."

Currently, it has four offices across the globe, including two in Brazil, one in Beijing and one in Brussels.

"We are looking forward to showing China more Brazilian brands," Santin said.