According to Tyan on China-Defense.blogspot.com on May 12, the Brazilian army has been checking out NORINCO‘s VT4 main battle tank, an operation dating back to December 2022, in fact. NORINCO offered the option of arming its VT4 with a 120mm main gun for a forthcoming Brazilian call for tenders.
And they should still have plenty of surplus Type 89 SPATG 120mm 50-cal barrels around. The bigger issue, Tuan writes, would be to reconfigure the internal space for such a large unitary ammo. One may then expect the back of the turret would get chopped off to install the larger autoloader of the VT5/Type 15 lightweight MBT. Financially, paying for Chinese equipment would not be a problem as Brazil agreed to trade with China in RMB (Renminbi, the Chinese currency).
The VT-4, also known as the MBT-3000, is a Chinese third-generation main battle tank built by NORINCO (China North Industries Corporation) for overseas export. The VT-4 shares many subsystems technology and features from other latest Chinese main battle tanks such as Type 96B and Type 99A. Key examples are an automatic transmission system, 125mm smoothbore cannon, muzzle reference system, FY-4 ERA, carousel style autoloader, and overall geometry. The tank is armed with a powerful 125mm smoothbore gun, capable of firing a wide range of projectiles, including APFSDS (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot) rounds and high-explosive shells. In addition to its main armament, the VT4 features a secondary weapon system, including a coaxial machine gun and a roof-mounted remotely operated weapon station.