BRASILIA,
Nov 20: Chinese President Xi Jinping was greeted by his Brazilian
counterpart Wednesday as he began a state visit to the capital Brasilia,
after attending G20 and APEC summits in Latin America.
President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife welcomed Xi on the red carpet
with great pomp, including horse-mounted guards, a military brass band
playing their national anthems, and lines of children waving Chinese and
Brazilian flags.
Xi's turn in Brazil's capital comes fresh off
his attendance Monday and Tuesday at a G20 summit held in the Brazilian
coastal city of Rio de Janeiro, and an APEC summit last week in Lima,
Peru.
The Chinese leader figured prominently at both those
summits, in contrast with outgoing US President Joe Biden who cut a
spectral figure as fellow leaders looked past him, politically, to the
coming presidency of his elected successor Donald Trump.
That
difference also spoke to China's ascendant role as trade partner and
investor in Latin America, and expectations that America under Trump
will erect trade and migration barriers.
Xi, who has said he will
seek to "further enhance" ties with Brasilia with Lula, is bracing for
rocky years ahead for Chinese trade with the West, particularly with the
United States.
Trump, who will be sworn in on January 20, has
signaled a confrontational approach to Beijing, threatening tariffs of
up to 60 percent on imports of Chinese goods.
China and Brazil
have sought to position themselves as leaders of the Global South at a
time of worldwide uncertainty, with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
"The Global South is on a collective rise," Xi wrote in an article published in Brazilian media ahead of his visit.
Both
China and Brazil have sought to mediate in the Ukraine war while
declining to sanction fellow BRICS member Russia for its invasion.
China is Brazil's biggest trading partner overall, with two-way commerce exceeding $160 billion last year.
Xi
looked forward to talks with Lula "on further enhancing China-Brazil
relations, promoting synergy of the two countries' development
strategies, international and regional issues of common interest," state
news agency Xinhua forecast.
Brazil, in turn, will push for increasing exports of value-added products, said its secretary for Asia, Eduardo Paes.
The
South American agricultural power sends mainly soybeans and other
primary commodities to China, while the Asian giant sells Brazil
semiconductors, telephones, vehicles and medicines.
Since
returning to power in early 2023, Lula has sought to balance efforts to
improve ties with both China and the United States.
A visit to
Beijing this year by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was seen as paving
the way for Brazil to potentially join China's Belt and Road Initiative
to stimulate trade -- a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's
clout overseas. —AFP
