Chinese and Brazilian Presidents To Discuss ‘New Areas’ of Cooperation

April 12, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—China’s CGTN network reported April 11 that an important aspect of Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s trip to China will be discussion of “new areas of cooperation,” for the purpose of diversifying trade and investment. The bilateral meeting between Xi Jinping and Lula on April 14 will have an “open agenda” for such discussion, after which investments to be made in Brazil will be announced.

CGTN correspondent Feng Yilei reported last night that Brazil is expected to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which other sources have also mentioned. Former Brazilian Finance Minister Rubens Ricupero told Argentina’s TN network that if joining the BRI “means that China is willing to finance railroads and ports, projects that Brazil can’t finance, this will have an evident benefit. Perhaps during this visit, this point will be clarified.”

According to Zhou Zhiwei at the Brazil Studies Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, semiconductors and 6G technology are high on the agenda during this visit. Lula is scheduled to meet in Shanghai with Hua Liang, CEO of the Huawei telecommunications giant, to discuss 5G and 6G technology, as well as other technological innovations related to health, security and telecommunications.

Back on March 24, Reuters had reported that Lula will seek Chinese investment and technology to “build a semiconductor industry” in Brazil. At the time, Lula’s foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim had reported that agreements will also be signed on the Sino-Brazilian CBERS small satellite program, begun in 1988, plus agreements on producing communications and microelectronics equipment. Amorim told Reuters at the time, “We have no preference for a Chinese semiconductor factory. But if they offer good conditions, I don’t see why we refuse. We are not afraid of the big bad wolf,” he commented, when asked about U.S. displeasure over technology deals with China.

Lula has scheduled meetings with CEOs of other top Chinese companies, such as electric auto producer BYD, and the energy giant State Grid. Global Times points out today that cross-border yuan settlement transactions are also on the agenda. China’s largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank, handled the first cross-border yuan settlement transaction in Brazil via its local branch. Zhou Zhiwei emphasized that enhanced cooperation between the two countries using this type of yuan in trade settlement will become a model for promoting yuan business in all of Latin America.