Brazil and China share mutual economic development for international business and trading.The several years of this successful trading relationship have been strengthened by the creation of the economic group BRICS,which has allowed China to become Brazil’s largest trade partner since 2009,surpassing the United States.Stable and mature buyer-supplier partnerships are essential for any type of trade business.Researches have shown that there are specific factors influencing partnership management among different types of organizations.Based on that,this thesis aims to answer what are the main influencing factors in partnership management of Brazilian small and mediumsized trade enterprises（SMTEs）.These factors are commonly used to build and sustain successful partnerships with suppliers while importing from China.Another implication that this thesis aims to answer is how the different combinations of these factors are used to compose different partnership types.While a significant number of studies have been writing about factors influencing the adoption of supply chain management practices,the empirical evidence of the main influencing factors in partnership management along a supply chain has been scant.Also,studies are limited to other countries and industries rather than Brazil and the Electronic/Machinery sectors.Based on an extensive literature review on partnership management,its main influencing factors,and in the theories of supply chain management practices,this thesis brings an empirical test of a partnership model used to evaluate different influencing factors,classifying partnerships in different types.The empirical test of the model was made through a questionnaire distributed to a selected group of Brazilian SMTEs currently importing from China.The results indicate that a set of eight main influencing factors are present in every partnership,but the application level of each factor differs from company to company.The combinations of these factors and levels make it possible to classify the companies in three different types of identified partnerships,which are aligned with the scope of business of each SMTE.The result indicates that there is no ideal partnership type,but the one that fits each companies’ style exists.By identifying their partnership types,companies can analyze if their partnerships should be strengthened,loosened,or kept as it is to sustain a successful partnership.It was also identified that some factors are applied at the same level by each organization,being considered as “common factors” among all studied enterprises（independently of the identified partnership type）.These common factors are planning,joint operations control,communications,risk/reward sharing,trust and commitment,contract style,scope,and financial investment.Further research is needed to identify what would make those companies adopt certain levels of application of each factor to strengthen their partnership styles.