Lula and Xi Agree to Boost Chinese Presence in Brazil

Deals send signal that Trump's protectionist threats have done little to dissuade Lula from betting more on Beijing

- Bloomberg

Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insists he doesn't want to pick between the US and China as his two largest trading partners; they wage a trade war. But it's increasingly clear which side he has already chosen.

Lula and China's Xi Jinping signed on Tuesday more than 30 agreements for Chinese investment in mining, transport infrastructure and ports, as well as the purchase of jets made by Embraer SA. Both nations decided to cooperate on artificial intelligence and take joint action on climate, while their central banks entered a 157 billion-real currency swap agreement to provide liquidity to each other's markets over a period of five years.

The deals, signed in Beijing during a state visit, mark the latest step in Lula's efforts to transform Brazil's commodities-heavy economy with Chinese assistance, while sending one of the strongest signals yet that Donald Trump's protectionist threats have done little to dissuade the leader of Latin America's largest economy from betting even bigger on Beijing.

"In recent months, the world has become more unpredictable, more unstable and more fragmented," Lula said at a ceremony with Xi. "China and Brazil are determined to unite their voices against unilateralism and protectionism. Trade wars have no winners."

The state visit is the third between Xi and Lula since 2023. Add global summits and events they've both attended, and there are few world leaders with whom the Brazilian has spent more time during his third term in office.

The agreements build on deals struck during Xi's trip to Brasilia in November, when they cinched accords for China to boost financing of Brazilian infrastructure projects and open new markets to the South American nation's agricultural goods.