Xi meets Lula: China, Brazil call for ‘more just’ world order amid Trump tariff turmoil

Chinese President Xi Jinping met his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Beijing on Tuesday, with both countries agreeing to strengthen their partnership to defend a multipolar world order, especially in the face of the Trump administration’s global tariff wars. The two nations endorsed each other as leading voices of the Global South and called on the developing world to unite in shaping a “more just” international order. China and Brazil also issued a joint statement after the meeting urging Russia and Ukraine to “start direct dialogue as soon as possible”. This came days before potential peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. US President Donald Trump has said he is open to attending the talks scheduled to be held in Istanbul on Thursday. Addressing a joint press conference after their meeting, Xi said his talks with Lula were “cordial, friendly and fruitful”. The China-Brazil friendship rested on a “solid” foundation, with extensive common interests and vast potential for cooperation in a “turbulent” world, he added. “The world today is not peaceful, and challenges are increasing every day,” Xi said. “China and Brazil will work together to uphold the principles of free trade and the multilateral trading system … to sustain the momentum and dynamism of global economic growth.” Echoing Xi, Lula said that the two countries were determined to speak as one against unilateralism and protectionism, in a veiled swipe at the trade policies of the Trump White House. Xi and Lula witnessed the signing of some 20 cooperation documents, covering a wide range of fields including Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, technology, agriculture, artificial intelligence, currency swaps, minerals and trade. The two countries also signed a joint statement on safeguarding multilateralism. “Both sides believe that there are no winners in tariff or trade wars, and that protectionism should not be the answer to current challenges,” the statement read. “The two sides will work together to … promote the development of the international order and system in a more just and equitable direction, and promote multipolarity in the world.” Although the United States and China have paused their intense tariff war, the uncertainty involved is expected to reinforce the ties between China and Brazil, the largest developing economies in the eastern and western hemispheres. Lula’s five-day visit, which ends on Wednesday, is part of that push. He held a flurry of meetings with top Chinese business leaders on Monday, and also attended a China-Brazil business forum where he announced that Beijing would invest the equivalent of around US$4.8 billion in Brazil. Last week, China announced it had lifted restrictions on soybean imports from five Brazilian firms that were suspended for several months over phytosanitary concerns. Chinese buyers are expected to increasingly turn to Brazilian agricultural goods to cut their dependence on US supplies amid the tariff tensions. Meanwhile, Brazil has signalled plans to ramp up exports to China and draw more Chinese investment for its “re-industrialisation” drive – while maintaining that stronger ties with Beijing did not mean it was distancing itself from the United States. Lula’s visit also comes as Latin America emerges as a front line in the strategic rivalry between the US and China, particularly over the Panama Canal. On Tuesday, Lula also joined Xi at a high-profile ministerial meeting between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States – seen as offering Beijing another window to exchange views with the key Global South nations on how to respond to Trump’s global tariffs. China and the US agreed at the weekend to suspend most mutual tariffs for 90 days, but Beijing has made it clear that it will firmly oppose and retaliate against any trade agreements with the US that could compromise its interests. Xi and Lula were both in Moscow last week for the Victory Day parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, adding to speculation that China and Brazil were stepping up joint efforts for greater influence in the global governance system. Last year, the two countries proposed their own peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. Xi is expected to visit Brazil in July for the summit of the Brics group, a 10-member emerging economies group of which China, Brazil and Russia are founding members. He last travelled to Brazil in November, when the two countries decided to elevate their ties to “the community with a shared future for a more just world and a more sustainable planet”. Lula told Xi on Tuesday that he looked forward to reciprocating the warm welcome he received from the Chinese leader when they meet again at the Brics event. “Brics will increasingly be a fundamental space for coordination in the Global South to build a world with a more just and effective multipolar order,” he said.

Xi meets Lula: China, Brazil call for ‘more just’ world order amid Trump tariff turmoil

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Xi Jinping hails ‘cordial’ talks with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as both sides call for direct talks to end Ukraine war

Xi Jinping hails ‘cordial’ talks with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as both sides call for direct talks to end Ukraine war