Brazil-China ties key for global peace, stability, Xi tells Lula
Beijing, Apr 14 (EFE).- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing, where the latter underlined that bilateral relations between them would play a key role for global stability and peace.
Lula arrived in the Chinese capital the previous day on a state visit, and was received with honors by Xi in the Great Hall of the People before the meeting.
During the 50-minute meeting, Xi stressed that China and Brazil were “two of the largest developing countries and two important emerging markets.”
He further said the two nations had common interests, and that China would prioritize their relationship, which would benefit both countries.
Xi added that China sought to build “a new development paradigm” and mentioned the Global Security Initiative, a project announced by Xi in April 2022 and that opposes the use of sanctions on the international stage.
Lula responded that his government wanted relations between China and Brazil to go beyond just “commercial interest.”
He further expressed the hope that it would extend to other sectors such as climate change, the use of clean energy, technology and the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.
After landing in China on Thursday, Lula visited the research center of Huawei, the Chinese tech giant sanctioned by the United States over national security concerns.
The Brazilian leader underlined that the visit to the Huawei center was a message to the world that there was no prejudice in his country’s relations with China.
Lula and Xi then presided over the signing of 14 agreements to strengthen ties in commerce, phytosanitary protocols, technology, development, energy transition and other areas of collaboration within the framework of the bilateral strategic partnership.
The signed commitments included the establishment of direct commercial transactions between Brazil and China in yuan, “without the need for dollarization,” as well as the construction of the sixth satellite jointly manufactured by the two nations, the CBERS-6, to monitor the the Amazon rainforest, according to the presidential office of Brazil.
Prior to his meeting with Xi, Lula held meetings with Prime Minister Li Qiang and the chair of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, Zhao Leji, and made a floral offering before the PMonument to the People’s Heroes in Tiananmen Square.
On Friday morning, the South American leader also held a meeting with Zhang Zhigang, the president of the state operator of the Chinese power system, State Grid, which has invested heavily in Brazilian electricity infrastructure in recent years.
The rest of his agenda for Friday included a press conference, a meeting with Brazilian authorities in China and an official dinner hosted by the Chinese government. EFE
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