Lula da Silva tells Xi Jinping’s vice president that he wants to expand relations with China

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told China’s Vice President Wang Qishan on Monday (Jan. 2) that his government is willing to expand relations with the Asian giant, Brazil’s leading trading partner, despite the cooling of ties during Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.

“China is our largest trading partner, and we can further expand relations between our countries,” said the PT president after a meeting with Qishan, who on Sunday (Jan. 1) represented Chinese President Xi Jinping at the inauguration ceremony.

Lula da Silva commented that he received a letter in which Xi announced the will to expand cooperation between the countries.

China overtook the United States as Brazil’s leading trade partner almost a decade ago and, in recent years, has become one of the primary sources of foreign direct investment in the country.

According to data released Monday by the government, Brazil had a record trade surplus of US$62.31 billion in 2022, thanks partly to increased trade with China.

China was the largest destination for Brazilian exports last year, with US$91.26 billion in sales and the country’s largest source of imports, with US$61.5 billion in purchases.

Far behind, the European Union was the second largest destination of Brazilian exports, with US$51 billion in sales. At the same time, the USA was the second largest source of imports, with US$ 51.31 billion in purchases.