President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) is traveling to China at the end of March and wants to use the trip to take a stand against former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). China is Brazil’s main trading partner, but relations between the two countries have been rocked in recent years by comments from the former president and other government officials.
Lula’s journey begins on March 28 and is scheduled to last four days. After meeting Joe Biden in the United States, the agenda with Chinese President Xi Jinping was treated as one of the government’s priorities for this semester.
In 2021, Bolsonaro even hinted that the pandemic would be part of a Chinese “biological war” and that “the military knows this.” Soon after, the thenpresident declared Brazil was “very important” to China and denied mentioning the Asian country in a statement about the origin of the new coronavirus. The withdrawal came after the Chinese blocked the supply of inputs to manufacture vaccines against Covid19.
Now members of the Lula government believe that the previous government’s criticism can be exploited to bring about a radical change in position in Brazil’s relationship with the Chinese. According to calculations by the allies, the PT could attract more investment from the Chinese government through this rapprochement.
“We had a preparatory meeting [sobre a viagem à China] with different ministries. The goal is to attract more investment. We have many options: renewable energy, green hydrogen, infrastructure, healthcare complex, aerospace, education, science and technology, agriculture. There’s still a lot more that can be done,” Alckmin said.
Still on that strategy, Lula appointed former President Dilma Rousseff to chair the New Development Bank of the Brics (NBD). The institution known as Banco do Brics is headquartered in Shanghai and Dilma is appointed as a person who has a good relationship with Xi Jinping.
Lula will try to attract investment from China to the Amazon Fund
On another front, Lula also intends to attract China to the Amazon fund. Government leaders believe the Chinese government can be involved after the United States confirmed it will also join the fund. The White House is expected to announce the amount passed on by the US in the coming weeks.
In addition to Petrobras, you are already donating to the Amazon Fund Germany and Norway. Spain and the G7 countries, the group of the seven richest countries in the world, are considering joining, as is France.
In addition, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira has already indicated that, in addition to trade, Brazil also wants to tackle issues ranging from increased joint production of satellites to strategies for environmental protection and poverty reduction. The government also intends to ask China for more explicit support for changing Brazil’s status to a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
According to Itamaraty, BrazilChina trade ended in 2022 with record exports and imports. Sales to China hit $89.7 billion, a third straight annual record, while purchases from the Asian giant hit $60.7 billion, according to data from the BrazilChina Business Council.
Lula will insist on a “peace club” to solve the war in Ukraine
After resistance from the US, Lula wants to advocate the establishment of a “peace club” in China to solve the war between Russia and Ukraine. Unlike the US government, which has supported Ukraine in the conflict, Xi Jinping’s government is one of the most important partners of Vladimir Putin’s Russian government.
Still, Lula recently said that China is not “interfering in the discussion” of the war, adding that his trip to the Asian country will be to try to find a way to get involved in resolving the conflict. “We need people who are willing to negotiate and they don’t. China is not involved in this discussion, the United States and Europe are supplying arms to Ukraine,” Lula said in an interview with CNN Brasil.
However, in September last year, Xi Jinping said that “China stands ready to work with Russia to provide strong mutual support on matters affecting their respective core interests.” The statement came during a meeting with Putin, who praised China’s “balanced position” in the Ukraine war.
The US suspects China of supplying weapons to Russia
This week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States believes China is considering supplying arms to Russia to help in the war in Ukraine. So far, the US has noted that Beijing has only provided nonmilitary assistance to the Russians.
“Based on the information we have, they are (we believe) considering providing lethal support,” Blinken told CBS News in an interview that aired Feb. 19. The Chinese government has denied the US Secretary of State’s allegations.
“It’s the United States that keeps supplying weapons to the battlefield, not China. The United States is not qualified to give orders to China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Back in January, Lula hinted that the Asian country would have to “get its hands dirty” to find a way out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “And then I think our Chinese friends play a very important role. When I go to China in March as planned, I want to talk to President Xi Jinping about it. It’s time for China to get its hands dirty,” he said.
However, according to Luciano Munõz, professor of international relations at the University Center of Brasília (UniCeub), the chances that the Chinese government will agree to the creation of a “peace club” championed by the Brazilian president are slim. In his estimation, China has vested interests in Russia’s war, as does the United States, which has shown no interest in joining Lula’s peace club.
“It is currently not foreseeable that this proposal will have any practical impact on the war. There is resistance from the US government, which supports Ukraine to start this peace club. The same must be done on the part of China, which is close to Russia,” he argued.
Similarly, Gunther Rudizit, a specialist in International Security and Asia and Professor of International Relations at the ESPM in São Paulo, explains that the war in Ukraine involves larger interests and is already counting on the involvement of other leaders from more powerful nations in the discussions. “Very difficult for China to agree to that [com o clube da paz]. I believe that the role of Xi Jinping [presidente da China] it will only listen to Lula’s suggestion. Everything indicates that the Chinese government intends to maintain its current position on the war,” he added.
Lula has international travel planned through September
In addition to the voyage to China in March, the Itamaraty is already preparing an international voyage schedule for Lula through midSeptember. A visit to Portugal in April has already been arranged.
The President should also be invited to and intends to attend the G7 summit in Japan in May. In July, it takes part in the Summit of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) in São Tomé and Príncipe. He was also due to return to Argentina for the Mercosur summit, the first country he has visited in this new mandate.
In August Lula attends the BRICS summit in South Africa and in September the G20 meeting in New Delhi and the United Nations General Assembly in New York.