First change: 03/24/2023 – 16:56
Brasilia (AFP) – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will travel to China on Sunday on a state visit to boost deals with his first trading partner and join forces with Xi Jinping on peace plans in the war in Ukraine to advance
Lula was originally scheduled to travel to Beijing on Saturday, but a “mild pneumonia” diagnosed on Thursday forced him to delay his departure by a day, the bureau reported.
The left, in power since January, has vowed to “replace Brazil in the new world geopolitics” following the isolationism of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
His official schedule starts Tuesday when he will meet Xi.
Along with his Chinese counterpart, Lula will present his proposal to form a group of mediators in the war in Ukraine, which he launched in January while refusing to send ammunition to Kiev because Brazil is a “peaceful” nation .
According to Brasilia, “China is a key ally” of this initiative.
The veteran leader wants to position Brazil as the facilitator of a multinational dialogue in Ukraine, emulating its mediation in the Iran-US nuclear deals during his second term (2007-2010).
China, for its part, is promoting a 12-point peace proposal that Xi discussed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week, which includes a call for dialogue and respect for all countries’ territorial sovereignty.
Putin expressed cautious support, while Western powers accused Beijing of tacitly backing Moscow’s armed intervention and the United States urged the world “not to be fooled” by such plans.
Chinese investments
Lula will arrive in Beijing with a large entourage of businessmen and ministers.
“Lula’s visit is a very clear sign that high-level bilateral dialogue is desired,” Evandro Menezes de Carvalho, China expert at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told AFP.
Bolsonaro visited China in his administration (2019-2022), but relations cooled after the far-right leader allied himself with then-US President Donald Trump to blame Beijing for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva toasts with then-Chinese President Hu Jintao during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing May 18, 2009 © JASON LEE/POOL/AFP/Archives
Despite this, bilateral trade continued to grow.
Last year, exchanges between the two countries exceeded $150,000 million, although Brazilian businessmen continue to struggle to place higher value-added goods in the Chinese market.
Brazil wants to “promote trade that aims to diversify products (…), but also bring in Chinese investments and advance other policies,” says Menezes, who mentions potential in technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence or the resumption of projects Train ball between Brazilian cities.
With $70.3 billion between 2007 and 2020, Brazil is the top destination for Chinese investment in Latin America (48%) according to the Brazil-China Business Council.
The money is mainly invested in power generation and oil, but also in car factories and heavy equipment, mining, agribusiness and information technology.
Half a thousand business people, half of them Brazilians, mostly from the agricultural industry, will hold a seminar on the 29th.
This sector obtained on Thursday the suspension of the ban on meat exports to China, in force since February 23, following the detection of an “atypical” case of the so-called “mad cow disease”.
On the other hand, Brazil is a huge market for Chinese companies such as telecommunications equipment maker Huawei. And advances between the two countries to use the yuan in billions of dollars worth of bilateral trade would pave the way for greater internationalization of the Chinese currency.
“More than with any other country,” a successful relationship with Brazil furthers China’s global economic goals, says Evan Ellis, China-Russia expert at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies in Washington.
South-South orientation
“But we must not lose sight of the fact that there is also a strategic association related to Brazil’s cooperation with China in a global South-South projection,” he adds.
Lula has prioritized multilateral diplomacy in previous governments (2003-2010) and has visited Beijing three times. The BRICS group of emerging economies, which includes China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, dates back to 2006.
Lula will also meet with Premier Li Qiang and People’s Assembly President Zhao Leji on Tuesday.
And he will travel to Shanghai on Wednesday to coincide with the inauguration of his ally and former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016) at the helm of the BRICS development bank NBD.
He will conclude his international tour with a visit to the United Arab Emirates from March 31st to April 1st.
© 2023 AFP