The South Americans have been below their best in this tournament and a third defeat this morning would have ruled them out of quarter-final qualification.
But they found a way to stay in the hunt through to their final fixture with so-far winless Serbia, with progression now seemingly assured.
It had not looked that way when they squandered a fourth-set match point, but they responded well by getting an early jump on China to take the decider.
Thaisa played a key role for Brazil, blocking six times as part of her 22-point haul, while Sheilla led the way with 23 scoring shots.
Zeng Chunlei was China's stand-out performer, taking 24 points away with her, for a side still on course to qualify despite a 50-50 record.
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