President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva begins what promises to be one of the most important and strategic international trips of his third term. Along with a delegation of businessmen, governors, deputies, senators and ministers, the Brazilian leader embarks this Tuesday morning (11) for a state visit to China, Brazil’s biggest trading partner.
The official schedule, which starts on Wednesday (12th) and runs until Friday (14th) in the cities of Shanghai and Beijing, respectively, and includes everything from business meetings to bilateral meetings with the main authorities in the Asian country. . Among them, Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In his last interview before boarding, given to the program The Voice of BrazilLula highlighted the purpose of the trip, which will be a kind of relaunch of relations with the country, which had cooled down in recent years.
“In China, we are going to consolidate our relationship with China, I will invite the [presidente] Xi Jinping to come to Brazil, to visit Brazil at a bilateral meeting, to show the projects of interest. What we want is to build a partnership with the Chinese, to form a partnership with the Chinese, so that they can invest in things that do not exist, a new highway, railroad, hydroelectric plant, anything that means something new for Brazil,” he said. .
In 2022, China imported more than US$89.7 billion in Brazilian products, especially soybeans and ores, and exported almost US$60.7 billion to the domestic market. The traded volume, US$ 150.4 billion, grew 21 times since Lula’s first visit to the country, in 2004. This will be Lula’s third trip as Brazilian president to the Asian giant.
Lula was supposed to make that trip at the end of last month, but a case of pneumonia forced him to postpone the appointment. The trip to China is Lula’s fourth international visit after taking office. The president has already been to Argentina, Uruguay and the United States. Lula also received, in Brasilia, the Prime Minister of Germany, Olaf Scholz, at the end of January.
Agreements
Even with the postponement of Lula’s visit to China, part of the entourage that arrived before the president managed to advance on important issues. One of them was the end of the embargo for the sale of Brazilian beef after 29 days of suspension. The decision, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, was taken after a meeting between Minister Carlos Fávaro and the Minister of General Administration of Chinese Customs, Yu Jianhua, in Beijing, on March 23.
With Lula’s presence, it is expected that more than 20 agreements between China and Brazil will be signed. One of them will be for the construction of CBERS-6, the sixth of a line of satellites built in the bilateral partnership. According to the Brazilian government, the differential of the new model is a technology that allows the monitoring of biomes such as the Amazon Forest even with clouds.
Another point that the president wants to discuss with Xi Jinping is the possibility of the Asian country promoting a dialogue with the president of Russia, Vladmir Putin, for the end of the war in Ukraine. In breakfast with journalists, last Thursday (6), Lula had already addressed the issue. “We do not agree with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I am convinced that both Ukraine and Russia are waiting for someone from the outside to speak: let’s sit down and talk”.
Schedule
According to the published schedule, the visit of the Brazilian delegation to China starts on Wednesday, in Shanghai. In the morning, President Lula will participate in the inauguration ceremony of former President Dilma Rousseff in charge of the New Development Bank, the development bank for the BRICS, a bloc formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In the afternoon, he will have meetings with businessmen and in the evening he will travel to Beijing.
On Friday, the official agenda in the Chinese capital includes a meeting, in the morning, with the president of the National People’s Congress, Zhao Leji, at the Great Palace of the People. Afterwards, the President will lay flowers at a ceremony in Tiananmen Square.
In the afternoon, Lula will meet with union leaders and then return to the Great Palace of the People, where he will meet with the Prime Minister of China, Li Qiang, and later will be received in an official ceremony by President Xi Jinping. The program will have an open meeting, a ceremony for the signing of bilateral agreements and then a closed bilateral meeting. After that, there will be a gift exchange ceremony, photo registration and, finally, an official dinner.
Upon returning to Brazil, the presidential plane will land in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, for an official visit next Saturday.
The year 2023 also marks the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of trade relations between Brazil and China. The first sale between the two countries took place in 1973, a year before the establishment of Sino-Brazilian diplomatic relations.
In 2022, the best-selling Brazilian product to the Chinese market was soy, with 36% of total exports, followed by iron ore with 20% and oil with 18%. The export profile changed slightly in January and February 2023, with oil in the lead at 23%, followed by soybeans (22%) and iron ore (21%).
Entourage
The official delegation led by Lula includes the presence of eight ministers: Fernando Haddad (Finance), Marina Silva (Environment and Climate Change), Carlos Fávaro (Agriculture and Livestock), Luciana Santos (Science, Technology and Innovation), Mauro Vieira (External Relations), Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy), Paulo Teixeira (Agrarian Development) and Wellington Dias (Development and Social Assistance). In addition, the governors Jerônimo Rodrigues (Bahia), Elmano de Freitas (Ceará), Carlos Brandão (Maranhão), Helder Barbalho (Pará) and Fátima Bezerra (Rio Grande do Norte) will be present.
The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, is also part of the entourage, which still comprises more than 20 parliamentarians, including federal deputies and senators.
