BEIJING/BRASILIA (Reuters) – China and Brazil pledged on Tuesday to defend free trade and multilateralism as the two countries signed 20 agreements in Beijing to strengthen their ties amid global trade uncertainties.
The two countries should firmly oppose unilateralism, protectionism and “acts of bullying”, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Lula said the two countries’ relations had “never been more necessary”, according to footage shown on Brazilian state television.
The presidents witnessed the signing of the agreements, including highly-anticipated deals for more Brazilian agricultural exports to China.
Lula is in Beijing for a four-day official state visit and to attend a high-profile forum in Beijing along with other Latin American and Caribbean officials, including Chile’s President Gabriel Boric and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro.
Tuesday’s meeting was Lula’s third with Xi since taking office in 2023, underscoring Brazil’s warming relations with China, its largest trading partner.
At a business forum attended by Lula in Beijing on Monday, Brazil’s trade and investment promotion agency said it helped attract around 27 billion reais ($4.8 billion) of Chinese investment to Brazil.
($1 = 5.6740 reais)
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia. Editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Potter)
