RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 9 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's hospital ship Silk Road Ark arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 8, 2026, beginning a 7-day friendly visit along with medical exchange activities.

This is one of the stops for the hospital ship during its "Harmony Mission 2025" mission and also the first visit by a Chinese naval hospital ship to Brazil.

During the visit, the Chinese naval hospital ship Silk Road Ark will be open to the public and will dispatch expert teams to the Marcílio Dias naval hospital and Brazilian Navy Operational Medical Center for medical exchanges. Representatives from the Brazilian Navy's health services department will board the Chinese naval hospital ship for a visit and conduct medical exchanges. Brazilian naval combat officers will take part in the combat rescue demonstration of the Chinese naval hospital ship.

In addition, the Chinese naval hospital ship also plans to conduct joint maritime exercises with the Brazilian Navy on topics such as formation navigation and joint search and rescue of individuals that had fallen into the water.