BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) _ Brazil is looking to triple exports to

China through a new program aimed at making the country's goods

more competitive in the Asian market, officials said Thursday.

``For many China is an unknown dragon. ... We need to

investigate this market, be aggressive,'' Brazilian Foreign Trade

Secretary Welber Barral said as he launched the Agenda China

program, a partnership between the government and private sector

that will increase Brazil's trade presence on the Chinese market.

Trade between the two countries rose tenfold from 2000 to 2007,

according to Brazilian government figures. In 2007, Brazil imported

US$12.6 billion worth of Chinese goods while exporting US$10.7

billion of its own goods to China.

While 96 percent of Brazil's Chinese imports are high-value

manufactured goods, 74 percent of its exports to China are

low-value commodities such as soybeans and pig iron.

Agenda China seeks to increase sales to China of Brazilian

pharmaceutical products, chemicals, plastics, shoes and metals, as

well as expanding the array of agricultural goods, through a higher

Brazilian presence at trade fairs and through visiting delegations

of businessmen, Barral said.

China is Brazil's third-largest trading partner after the United

States and Argentina.