President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva embarks today (Apr. 11) on a state visit to China—Brazil's largest trading partner—with a delegation of businessmen, governors, federal representatives, senators, and ministers.
The official program, starting on Wednesday (12) and concluding on Friday (14), will take place in the cities of Shanghai and Beijing, respectively. It includes various activities such as business meetings and bilateral discussions with China's top authorities, such as President Xi Jinping.
"In his last interview before departing, given to the program A Voz do Brasil, Lula emphasized the aim of the trip: to reinvigorate relations with China, which had cooled in recent years."
"During this trip we aim to consolidate our relationship with China. I am going to invite [President] Xi Jinping to come to Brazil, to get to know Brazil in a bilateral meeting, to show him our projects. What we want is to build a partnership with the Chinese people, foster cooperation with them, so that they can invest in new initiatives such as highways, railroads, hydroelectric plants," he stated.
Over 20 agreements between China and Brazil are expected to be signed during Lula's visit, including one regarding the construction of CBERS-6, the sixth in a line of satellites built through the bilateral partnership. According to the Brazilian government, the new model boasts advanced technology, enabling biome monitoring, such as the Amazon Rainforest, even in the presence of cloud cover."
Chinese imports of Brazilian products, particularly soy and minerals, exceeded $89.7 billion in 2022, while Chinese exports to Brazil reached almost $60.7 billion. Since Lula's first visit to the country in 2004, the total traded volume has increased 21 times and reached a value of $150.4 billion. This will be Lula's third visit to the Asian giant as Brazilian president.
Lula had initially planned to undertake this trip at the end of last month. However, due to a pneumonia condition, he had to postpone it. This is Lula's fourth international visit since he took office as president of Brazil in January. He has already been to Argentina, Uruguay, and the United States. Additionally, Lula welcomed Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Brasilia at the end of January.
On his return to Brazil, Lula will make an official visit to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday (Apr. 15).
