On April 11, 2023, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying announced: As agreed by both parties, President Lula of the Federative Republic of Brazil will pay a state visit to China from April 12 to 15. Lula, who had previously postponed his visit to China due to influenza and pneumonia, led a large delegation that was re-expanded as soon as he recovered from his illness. This is Lula's fifth visit to China and third state visit to China. It is also Lula's first visit to a country outside the region since he took office for just 100 days in office. This pushes the enthusiasm of many foreign leaders to visit China to a new climax.

Regarding Lula’s visit to China, in addition to bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the international community is particularly concerned about whether Lula’s previous proposal to form a peace facilitation group composed of China, Pakistan and other countries will be combined with China’s position on a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis. Bring peace to this crisis. After China and Pakistan signed an agreement on using local currency for trade settlement, the next step plan is also the focus of many parties.

Lula is an old friend of China. China and Pakistan are both BRICS countries, both emerging markets and major developing countries, and the two sides share many common languages. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on the 11th that China is willing to work with Pakistan to take this visit as an opportunity to promote the upgrading of mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation in various fields between the two countries, and inject new energy into promoting the solidarity and cooperation of developing countries and jointly coping with global challenges. .

Lula has strong expectations for his visit to China

Good morning, I am ready to leave for China. There is an 11 hour time difference between Brazil and China, are you ready to track my visit schedule? On the morning of April 11, local time, Lula posted a message on Twitter to announce his upcoming visit to China. The night before, he tweeted that the purpose of this visit was to strengthen Brazil's relationship with China, and that there was still a lot of work to be done to build a better country.

April 10 marks the 100th day of Lula's inauguration as president. Earlier in the day, Lula said in an interview with the state broadcaster (EBC) that the current government's top priority is to restore stagnant economic growth and launch a new infrastructure investment plan. Lula obviously attaches great importance to this visit to China. He said that he will make good use of this visit to consolidate relations with China, including inviting Chinese leaders to pay an official visit to Brazil and showcasing projects that we hope China can invest in. He said: We hope that China can invest so that more jobs and new productive assets can be created in Brazil, such as new highways, new railways, or hydroelectric power plants. At the same time, we will sell more soybeans, corn, meat and airplanes to China.

Lula's visit to China will lead a huge delegation. After another expansion, the delegation following Lula's visit to China includes several cabinet ministers, governors, and 39 members including the President of the Brazilian Senate, Paseco. In addition, there are about 240 business leaders, and the number of delegation seats is in short supply. According to Bloomberg, before Lula's visit to China, hundreds of Brazilian business representatives flocked to China to seek cooperation opportunities.

Wang Wenbin said at a press conference on April 11 that after President Lula postponed his visit to China due to illness, China and Pakistan have been in close communication on the visit. President Lula led a large delegation to China for a state visit shortly after his recovery, which fully reflects the great importance that China and Pakistan attach to this visit and the development of bilateral relations.

There are many common languages between China and Pakistan

Brazilian news website "Poder360" said on the 11th that Lula regarded this trip to China as the most important visit at the beginning of his third term. The two countries are expected to sign more than 20 agreements and memorandums of understanding. Lula's visit to China will also discuss joining the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Lula plans to arrive in Shanghai first, visit the headquarters of the BRICS New Development Bank, and attend the inauguration ceremony of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as the president of the BRICS New Development Bank.

Zhou Zhiwei, a researcher at the Latin American Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview on the 11th that the cooperation between China and Brazil is multi-field and all-round, especially in terms of economy and trade. China has been Brazil's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. , the bilateral trade volume reached a record 171.5 billion US dollars. Brazil is also a major destination country for Chinese overseas investment. Whether it is the potential of the Chinese market or the availability of investment in China, they are all important external help that Lula can rely on when dealing with economic, social and people's livelihood issues.

Agence France-Presse said that in addition to bilateral economic and trade relations, the international community pays special attention to the statements of Brazil and China on the Ukraine issue. Lula had previously put forward a proposal to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. Brazil, China, Indonesia, India and other countries not involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict should form a peace group to find a peaceful solution. Lula praised that only China is working hard to promote peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

In February, China issued the document "China's Position on the Political Solution to the Ukraine Crisis". During French President Macron's visit to China last week, China and France announced in the "Joint Statement" that the two sides support all issues based on international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Efforts to restore peace to Ukraine. Brazilian Foreign Minister Vieira spoke positively of China's peace proposals, believing that these are the basic conditions for peace.

The Yonhap News Agency stated that the outside world is also concerned about whether Lula's visit to China can further promote the de-dollarization of China-Pakistan trade settlement. Just before Lula's visit to China, China and Pakistan had reached an agreement on using each other's currency for settlement in import and export and international finance.

Zhou Zhiwei said that the positions of China and Pakistan on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine are representative to a certain extent. Both China and Brazil are important representatives of developing countries. Developing countries have the same interests in global security governance, and their positions in the field of global security are relatively consistent. Both China's peaceful stance and Lula's peace initiative are based on the security concept of global peace, which has resonated with most countries in the world, including developing countries.

Zhou Zhiwei believes that under the complex situation of global geopolitical and economic relations, China has shown a positive and promising attitude in global affairs, which has been highly recognized. More and more countries want to cooperate with China. Lula's visit to China this time also hopes to strengthen coordination and diplomatic cooperation with China on major international issues.

Chinese friends all over the world

After Macron left, Lula came again. Why are the heads of state flocking to China? Yonhap News Agency stated on the 11th that although the United States is doing its best to attract allies around the world in an attempt to contain China, China still has friends all over the world, and leaders of various countries visit in an endless stream. Beijing. According to reports, the Biden administration of the United States is trying to use the value alliance as a sign to attract allies to contain China. However, leaders of many countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America have visited China one after another recently and expressed their opposition to decoupling from China, which makes the United States even more worried. As leaders of many countries have visited China one after another, the outside world has paid more and more attention to China's soft power and the ability of Chinese leaders to facilitate peace.

Both China and Brazil are major developing countries and important emerging market countries, and they are comprehensive strategic partners to each other. In addition to the economic level, Brazil and China also have extensive cooperation space on the political and diplomatic levels. Evandro Carvalho, director of the Center for Brazil-China Studies, said in an interview with reporters that in 2006, when Lula was president of Brazil, the foreign ministers of Brazil, China, Russia and India met for the first time during the UN General Assembly. , opening the prelude to BRICS cooperation.

Carvalho said that over the years, China and Brazil have supported each other in multilateral mechanisms such as the BRICS and the G20. He said that the current world situation is complicated. Given the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and the actions of the United States on the international stage, during Lula's visit to China, China and Pakistan will continue to deepen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including under the BRICS mechanism.

The Gulf News of the United Arab Emirates stated that the BRICS countries are accelerating the shaping of the new world order. China and Brazil recently signed an agreement to settle trade in their own currencies, a move that encourages other countries to follow suit, the report said. Countries in the Global South are increasingly expecting the BRICS to play a greater role. Calculated by purchasing power parity, the GDP of the BRICS countries has surpassed that of the Western Group of Seven (G7). The BRICS countries have become a new economic and diplomatic platform for the countries of the Global South. Although the West tries to downplay the role of the BRICS in shaping the new world order, the changes are real and irreversible.

Recently, more and more developing countries want to get closer to China, and their desire to join some international organizations that China has joined is very urgent. Jiang Shixue, Distinguished Professor of Shanghai University and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, told the Global Times that with the development of China and the rise of its international status, many developing countries have seen the hope of development, and they have a strong desire to strengthen relations with China. The cohesion of the Chinese nation has also gradually increased. This will inevitably have international effects. The independent global security concept and prosperous economic outlook of developing countries and important emerging market countries will inject stabilizing factors into the turbulent international situation.Editor/Ma Xue