What’s in store for Brazil’s President Lula during China visit?

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to arrive in Shanghai on Tuesday then travel to Beijing where he will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday
The main focus of the visit will be on trade, but geopolitics – including the war in Ukraine – will also play an important role in discussions

Brazil

Liu Zhen

Published: 10:00pm, 10 Apr 2023

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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, will begin his delayed visit to China this week, with a focus on boosting bilateral trade.

He will arrive in Shanghai on Tuesday before travelling to Beijing where he will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Friday. His four-day visit, which was originally planned for late March, was rescheduled after he was diagnosed with the flu and pneumonia.

Brazilian officials have said the main goal of the visit is to diversify the country’s trade relationship with China, the largest customer for its exports, which mainly consist of soybeans and iron ore.

The original delegation that was to accompany Lula in March included 240 business representatives – 90 of them from the agricultural sector – as well as representatives from all government ministries and 27 senators and congressmen.

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In recent weeks, it was announced that 12 more legislative members, including head of the Brazilian Senate Rodrigo Pacheco, had been added to the entourage.

More than 20 deals are expected to be signed covering areas such as health, agriculture, education, finance, industry, science and technology.

On March 29, the two countries announced an agreement for trade between them to be settled in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary.

In addition to talks with senior politicians, Lula will meet business leaders and visit the headquarters of the New Development Bank in Shanghai, established by the BRICS economic bloc, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Xi and Lula are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine in the wake of the Chinese leader’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month.

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Lula has repeatedly expressed his willingness to serve as a mediator, telling the news portal Brasil 247 on Tuesday that Brazil could “make an extraordinary contribution to end the war”.

He has criticised Putin for the invasion, but opposes sanctions on Russia and has criticised the West for not doing enough for peace. Lula has also described China as “an extremely important country” that could “have a more serious discussion with the US” about the war.

Lula, who was sworn in for his third term as president in January, was elected on a platform dedicated to tackling issues such as poverty, low growth, high inflation, and hunger – all goals that more trade and investment with China can help him to achieve.

China has been Brazil’s top trading partner for 14 years. In 2022, two-way trade grew by 8.1 per cent and hit a record US$171.5 billion.

Brazil is China’s biggest supplier of soybeans, chicken and sugar, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Other major agricultural exports include corn and beef. In late March, China agreed to resume beef imports, which were suspended by Brazil in February after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, was discovered.

South America’s largest economy became the single biggest destination for Chinese overseas investment in 2021, when it attracted 13.6 per cent of China’s total foreign direct investment, mainly for projects to build up the country’s electricity grid and extract oil.

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Unlike his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who adopted anti-Chinese rhetoric, Lula and his left-wing Workers’ Party have traditionally taken a more friendly view towards the country.

During his previous two terms as Brazilian president between 2003 and 2010, he visited China twice in 2004 and 2009 and met former Chinese president Hu Jintao eight times. He was also a guest at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

He helped set up the BRICS bloc to boost economic and political ties with China and the other member states.

Lula has praised China for providing vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic, but during last year’s election campaign he complained that the influx of Chinese imports was affecting Brazil’s manufacturing industry.

Lula da Silva pictured with former president Hu Jintao during a visit to Beijing in 2009. Photo: AFP

He has pledged to restore Brazil’s international leadership role and reverse Bolsonaro’s isolationist policies.

Lula has already brought Brazil back to regional forums such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Union of South American Nations, and promised to strengthen the Mercosur trade bloc.

A recent article in the Journal of Latin American Studies, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Beijing should welcome his approach, adding that the country’s “left turn” provided a “good opportunity for China to deepen Sino-Brazilian cooperation, Sino-Latin American cooperation and exclude US interference” at a time of rising tensions with Washington.

The authors noted that Lula had criticised American unilateralism and interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and said his presidency gave China an opportunity not just to boost economic ties but also strengthen policy coordination on major global issues, including dealing with the US.