Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged “to speak out more” for an end to the Ukraine war and a ceasefire in Gaza during a state visit to the Brazilian capital, Chinese state media said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reiterated those points when meeting Xi at a red carpet welcome in Brasilia, and emphasized a joint roadmap for peace in Ukraine that they are proposing.
“In a world plagued by armed conflicts and political strife, China and Brazil put peace, diplomacy and dialogue first,” Lula said.
Xi said he wanted to see “more voices committed to peace to pave the way for a political solution to the Ukraine crisis,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
He also called for a “quick ceasefire and an end to the war” in Gaza, the agency said.
On Ukraine, a China-Brazil roadmap to mediate peace has been supported by Russia – an ally of China – but rejected by Kiev and its Western backers.
The Chinese president’s appeal to stop fighting in Gaza – where Israel is waging an offensive against Hamas – echoed appeals made by him and other G20 leaders during a summit held on Monday and Tuesday in Rio.
The joint statement from that summit called for a “comprehensive” ceasefire in both Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is also waging an offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council voted on a resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, but Israel’s ally the United States vetoed it.
China is filling the ‘vacuum’
Xi’s state visit to Brazil showcased closer ties between Asia and Latin America’s largest economies, with analysts saying it also reflected America’s declining influence.
The two leaders signed 35 cooperation agreements on areas including agriculture, trade, technology and environmental protection.
According to Xinhua, Xi said that China-Brazil relations are “at their best level in history” and that the two countries are now “trusted friends”.
Lula said he believed growing Brazil-China relations “will exceed all expectations and pave the way for a new phase of bilateral relations.”
He said he looked forward to welcoming Xi to Brazil again next July for the BRICS summit.
The Chinese leader was featured prominently at the G20 summit and the APEC summit held in Peru last week – in contrast to outgoing US President Joe Biden, who cut a spectral figure.
Fellow leaders looked ahead to Donald Trump’s upcoming US presidency, leaving Biden behind politically, which begins on January 20.
“Xi Jinping is clearly looking to fill the void left by the election of Trump, who does not value multilateralism,” Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations expert at Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation think tank, told AFP.
‘Synergy’
China is Brazil’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade exceeding $160 billion last year.
The South American agricultural powerhouse mainly ships soybeans and other primary commodities to China, while Asian giant Brazil sells semiconductors, telephones, vehicles and medicines.
Since returning to power in early 2023, Lula has sought to balance efforts to improve relations with both China and the United States.
Vice President Geraldo Alcmin’s visit to Beijing this year was seen as paving the way for Brazil to potentially join China’s Belt and Road Initiative to encourage trade – expanding China’s dominance overseas. was a central pillar of Xi’s efforts to
But no announcement was made in that direction during Xi’s visit. Instead the two leaders talked about finding “synergies” between that Chinese program and Brazil’s own infrastructure development program.
South American countries that have signed on to Beijing’s initiative include Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
One of the agreements signed Wednesday was on Brazil opening its market to SpaceCell, a Chinese satellite company that competes with Starlink, founded and run by South African-born American billionaire Elon Musk, which already operates satellites in remote Brazilian cities. Covers areas.
Musk has a turbulent history with Brazil, where courts forced his social media platform X to comply with national laws against disinformation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
