Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meets his counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing this Friday, during a visit to China to try to boost ties between the two nations.
The meeting comes on the second day of Lula’s visit to Brazil’s most important trading partner and an ally in his bid to challenge Western-dominated economic institutions.
The visit included the inauguration on Thursday of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as head of the China-backed New Development Bank, which finances infrastructure projects in Brazil and other developing countries.
The institution presents itself as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which often impose loan conditions that developing countries describe as punitive.
The Brazilian government said at least 20 bilateral agreements are expected to be signed, marking an improvement in relations between Brasilia and Beijing since Lula replaced his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, in January.
China is Brazil’s largest export market, buying tens of billions of dollars worth of soybeans, beef, iron ore, poultry, pulp, sugarcane, cotton and oil each year.
In addition, Brazil is the Latin American country with the most Chinese investment, according to Chinese state media, although Lula has been critical of Chinese companies having a direct participation in Brazilian companies.
Lula’s visit to China follows the president’s trips to Argentina and Uruguay in January, and to the United States in February, in an indication of the importance he attaches to international affairs, unlike Bolsonaro.
A key piece of Lula’s strategy abroad is his proposal that Brazil and other developing countries, including China, broker peace in Ukraine. However, his proposal that Ukraine give up Crimea to facilitate peace has angered Kiev and its staunchest supporters.
China has also tried to play a role in ending the conflict, albeit in a very close fashion to Moscow. He has refused to condemn the invasion, criticized economic sanctions on Russia and accused the United States and NATO of provoking the conflict.
Russia and China declared a “limitless” relationship in a joint statement in 2022, and Xi reiterated that closeness by meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin last month in Moscow.
The Chinese peace proposal presented in February has elements in common with Lula’s, such as the cessation of hostilities and the start of negotiations, although it does not mention the return of the Ukrainian territories taken by Russia and its separatist allies.
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