The Brazilian head of state, who already made an official visit to the Asian nation in April 2023, hailed this trip as "a great step in the relationship of friendship and strategic closeness with China, Brazil's largest trading partner since 2009." Photo: EFE
Beijing, May 11 (RHC)-- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has arrived in Beijing to begin an official visit during which he will sign new bilateral agreements with China and attend the 4th China-CELAC Ministerial Forum, scheduled for Tuesday, May 13th.
Lula, who arrived in the Chinese capital on Saturday night, announced on his social media account that during his stay he will establish "new partnerships" and seal "cooperation agreements in multiple areas."
The Brazilian head of state, who already made an official visit to the Asian nation in April 2023, hailed this trip as "a great step in the relationship of friendship and strategic closeness with China, Brazil's largest trading partner since 2009."
On the other hand, Lula is expected to hold a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next week, although the Chinese government has not yet specified the date of the presidential meeting.
The Brazilian president will meet in Beijing with his counterparts from Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and Chile, Gabriel Boric, who also intend to participate in the forum of foreign ministers of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
During this meeting, China's relations with Latin America will be discussed in a context characterized by the return to power in the United States of Donald Trump, whose administration has unleashed an unprecedented trade war and is also putting pressure on American nations to reduce or end their ties with Beijing.
Last April, Lula expressed that he did not want to "choose between the United States and China" and resisted a new "cold war," a position that the Chinese government soon after supported, arguing that "Latin American and Caribbean countries are sovereign and independent nations."
China has been Brazil's main trading partner since 2009, and trade has grown since then, reaching a record $157.5 billion in 2023, with a beneficial surplus for the South American nation of $51.1 billion, according to official figures.
Aside from trade, bilateral collaboration encompasses virtually all sectors, in accordance with a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in place since 2012, to which satellite internet will now be added, according to ongoing negotiations between the two governments.
At the global level, in addition to being a member of the G20, which held its annual summit in November 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, China, along with Russia, India, and South Africa, is a founding member of the BRICS forum. Last year, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia joined this group.
In 2025, Brazil will assume the annual BRICS presidency and will host the next summit, indicating that Xi Jinping will visit the country in the coming months, having already visited it last November.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
