China seeks stronger ties with Brazil to resist ‘bullying’ on world stage

China’s top diplomat tells Brazil’s FM Mauro Vieira that Beijing-Brazil ties are at their ‘best in history’.

China is willing to strengthen coordination with Brazil to “resist unilateralism and bullying”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira.

Wang made the pledge to Vieira in a phone call, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, as the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva considers retaliatory trade measures against the United States over President Donald Trump’s imposition of 50 percent tariffs on a range of Brazilian goods.

During the phone call, Wang told Vieira that the China-Brazil relationship “is at its best in history”, China’s state-run Global Times reported, quoting Wang.

Noting that the current international situation “is undergoing complex changes”, Wang also pledged China’s willingness to join hands with the BRICS trading block, to protect “the legitimate rights and interests” of developing countries.

BRICS, which includes emerging economies such as Brazil, is a China-led political and economic grouping that is seen as a counter to the Western-led APEC and G7 groups.

Beijing’s offer comes amid indications that Brazil is considering a coordinated response with China and India against punitive US trade measures.

According to Global Times, Wang also recalled Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Lula’s phone call two weeks ago in which the two leaders “forged solid mutual trust and friendship” in the building of a China-Brazil community “with a shared future”.

In May, Lula also travelled to China for a five-day state visit.

Beijing has worked in recent years to court Latin America as a way of countering Washington, which is historically the most influential major power in the South American region.

But China has surpassed the US as Brazil’s largest trading partner, and two-thirds of Latin American countries have also signed up to Xi’s Belt and Road infrastructure drive.

Brazil exports large quantities of soya beans to China, which, as the world’s largest consumer of the ingredient, relies heavily on imports for its supply.

Relations between the US and Brazil have been icy since Trump imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian coffee and other goods, which took effect on August 6.

While Trump’s trade war has chiefly targeted countries that run a large trade surplus with the US, Brazil imports from the US far outweigh its exports, and Washington had a trade surplus of $28.6bn in goods and services with Brazil in 2024.

Trump has explained his economic hostility towards Brazil in terms of retribution for a so-called domestic legal “witch-hunt” against Brazil’s former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for coup plotting.

Trump has called for charges against Bolsonaro – who he considers an ally – to be dropped and has imposed sanctions on Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes for overseeing the case against the former leader.

In recent days, Brazil has also complained after the US revoked the visa of Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski.

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies