Brazilian President Lula Visits China... Meets President Xi to Discuss Economic Cooperation

Prospects for Dialogue on Ukraine War
Spokesperson Wang Wonbin: "Promoting Friendly Cooperation in Various Fields"
On Blinken's China Visit Question: "Sino-US Relations Facing Difficulties"

Brazilian President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva will visit China for four days starting on the 12th and hold a summit meeting with President Xi Jinping. Like Xi's recent accelerated diplomatic activities, the talks are expected to focus on economic cooperation. It is anticipated that both leaders will reiterate their existing principled positions on sensitive issues such as the Ukraine war and the Taiwan matter.

Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced on the 11th that President Lula will make a state visit to China from the 12th to the 15th. The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that after visiting the headquarters of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) New Development Bank (NDB) in Shanghai, President Lula will hold a summit with President Xi in Beijing on the 14th. Previously, President Lula had planned to visit China on the 24th-25th of last month but postponed the trip due to pneumonia symptoms. SCMP expects the two countries to sign more than 20 cooperation agreements in areas such as health, agriculture, education, finance, industry, science, and technology.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 11th, "After President Lula postponed his visit to China due to illness, both sides maintained close communication regarding the visit." He added, "President Lula's visit to China leading a delegation shortly after his recovery shows how much both countries value this visit and the development of bilateral relations." He continued, "China hopes to use this visit as an opportunity to promote qualitative upgrades in friendly cooperation across various fields between the two countries," emphasizing, "We want to inject more positive energy to promote unity and cooperation among developing countries and jointly respond to global challenges."

China has been Brazil's largest trading partner for the past 14 years. Last year, the trade volume between the two countries reached a record high of $171.5 billion (approximately 226.3 trillion KRW), an 8.1% increase from the previous year. Brazil is the largest supplier of soybeans, chicken, and sugar to China.

Regarding President Lula's visit to China, the Chinese state-run Global Times (GT) stated, "China and Brazil were surprised that President Lula's visit schedule was rescheduled so quickly after his pneumonia," emphasizing, "This shows that both governments highly value promoting a comprehensive strategic partnership and overcoming the increasing uncertainties in the international community." It added, "Experts say that President Lula's visit will elevate bilateral relations to a higher level through comprehensive cooperation not only in traditional areas such as trade but also in finance, poverty alleviation, and Belt and Road cooperation."

The two sides are also expected to discuss the prolonged Ukraine war. On the 4th, President Lula told Brazilian media, "Brazil can make a special contribution to ending the war," expressing his desire to act as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict. While criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he has opposed Western economic sanctions against Russia.

Meanwhile, at the regular briefing that day, when asked whether there was communication regarding U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China, Wang responded, "Currently, China-U.S. relations are facing difficulties," adding, "The responsibility does not lie with China." Wang further stated, "The United States must stop interfering in China's internal affairs, harming China's interests, and undermining the political foundation of bilateral relations," emphasizing, "The U.S. should face China and restore China-U.S. relations to a healthy and stable development track."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.