Genocidal dictator Xi Jinping of China told his Brazilian counterpart, socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during a phone call on Monday that Beijing would support Brazil in “defending [its] national sovereignty” as it navigates trade negotiations with the United States.
Xi further agreed to help Lula in helping create a global coalition “resolutely fighting against unilateralism and protectionism,” similarly veiled language apparently referring to President Donald Trump. China shared the contents of the call through its state news agency, Xinhua, not indicating that Xi mentioned Trump or the United States directly. Xinhua did relay that Lula updated Xi “on the recent situation of Brazil’s ties with the United States, as well as Brazil’s unwavering principled stance on safeguarding its own sovereignty.”
The call – which occurred on Tuesday local Beijing time, but on Monday night for Lula – followed the Brazilian president declaring last week that he was not interested in speaking to Trump directly about brokering a trade agreement. Lula promised to call Xi Jinping instead, indicating that he sought further Chinese involvement in the Brazilian economy to offset any damages from the deteriorating state of American-Brazilians relations.
America and Brazil have for decades enjoyed one of the world’s friendliest bilateral relationships, but ties are currently strained as a result of Lula failing to properly engage the White House on trade. President Trump announced in April a major overhaul of America’s trade relationships with every partner, including Brazil, warning that a failure to negotiate a more favorable deal for the United States would result in the imposition of tariffs.
In Brazil’s case, Trump has attached the tariff threat to pressuring Brasilia to respect the human rights of its citizens, condemning the Lula administration’s support for judicial persecution of conservatives. Trump has particularly demanded that Brazil stop persecuting conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro, who faces multiple criminal charges linked to dubious accusations of attempting to overthrow Lula.
As a result of judicial actions to silence Bolsonaro, other Brazilian conservatives, and American social media companies hosting American conservatives, Trump declared Brazil a national security threat to the United States last week. In an executive order, Trump imposed a 50-percent tariff on the country and sanctioned the most powerful justice on the nation’s supreme court, Alexandre de Moraes.
Xi, according to Xinhua, told Lula that, in the face of alleged threats to Brazil’s sovereignty, the Chinese Communist Party was “ready to work with Brazil to set an example of unity and self-reliance among major countries in the Global South.”
“China-Brazil ties are at their best in history,” Xi reportedly declared. “The Chinese side stands ready to work with Brazil to seize opportunities, strengthen coordination, and deliver more mutually beneficial cooperation outcomes.”
“Xi also said that China backs the Brazilian people in defending their national sovereignty and supports Brazil in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests,” Xinhua added, “urging all countries to unite in resolutely fighting against unilateralism and protectionism.”
The Chinese state outlet added that Lula “spoke highly” of China’s “responsible role in international affairs” and touted the two countries’ cooperation in BRICS, an anti-American economic and security bloc also including Russia, India, and South Africa.
Lula published a statement on social media confirming the call and describing it as lengthy, lasting nearly an hour.
Lula’s text did not as aggressively address purported “unilateralism.” The Brazilian president claimed the two discussed the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, BRICS cooperation, and the upcoming COP30 U.N. climate [alarmism] conference, which Brazil is hosting.
Lula added:
We also talked about the bilateral strategic relationship. In this context, we recalled the already achieved advances in the area of synergies in national programs and … committed to expand the scope of cooperation for sectors such as health, oil and gas, the digital economy, and satellites.
While Brazil relies heavily on trade with America, China is its largest trade partner and Lula appeared to be planning to redirect much of the market towards China to offset the effects of the breakdown in relations with Washington. According to the Brazilian news outlet G1, Brazilian exports to China between January and July were worth over $57.6 billion, while imports totaled $41.7 billion, making Brazil one of the few nations to enjoy a trade surplus with China. China relies heavily on Brazilian agriculture, particularly soybeans.
G1 reported last week that the situation with America may worsen, as Lula is reportedly considering reciprocal tariffs on American goods. According to the outlet’s sources, Lula requested that his foreign affairs, industry, and trade offices come up with multiple tariff reciprocity measures to potentially impose on America soon. The report indicated that the Brazilian business community does not support going into a trade war with the United States, as it may “make imported products from the US expensive or generate other negative impacts on the economy.”
Lula has resisted any personal engagement with Trump. Asked about the trade negotiations, he bizarrely told reporters last week he would rather discuss climate change.
“I am not going to call Trump to do business, no,” Lula was quoted as saying as week, “because he does not want to talk. But I will call Trump to convince him to come to COP[30], because I want to know what he thinks of the climate issue.”
“I will call Xi Jinping, I will call Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi. I won’t call [Vladimir] Putin because Putin can’t travel,” Lula added.
The Chinese government issued enthusiastic remarks welcoming Lula’s invitation to become involved in the U.S. trade issue. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Lula’s top advisor, Celso Amorim, last week to discuss Brazil’s struggles, asserting publicly that Beijing would support Brasilia.
“Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Lula, China and Brazil are making efforts to strengthen the Community of Shared Future for a More Just World and a More Sustainable Planet,” Wang reportedly said.
The Chinese foreign minister added that China supported Brazil in “defending its right to development and resisting the intimidating practice of abusive tariffs.”
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