Lula must attack Bolsonaro to attract investment from China

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) is going to China at the end of March and intends to use the trip to make a stand against former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL). China is Brazil’s main trading partner, but relations between the two countries have been shaken by statements made by the former president and other members of the government in recent years.

Lula’s trip will start on March 28 and should last four days. After the meeting with Joe Biden in the United States, the agenda with Chinese President Xi Jinping has been treated as one of the government’s priorities for this semester.

In 2021, Bolsonaro even suggested that the pandemic would be part of a Chinese “biological war” and that “the military knows this”. Soon after, the then president stated that Brazil is “very important” for China and denied having mentioned the Asian country in a statement about the origin of the new coronavirus. The retreat occurred after the Chinese blocked the delivery of inputs for the production of vaccines for Covid-19.

Now, members of the Lula government assess that the criticisms made by the previous government can be exploited to mark a radical change of position in Brazil’s relationship with the Chinese. In the calculation of the allies, the PT could attract more investment from the Chinese government through this approximation.

“We had a preparatory meeting [sobre a viagem à China] with various ministries. The goal is to attract more investments. We have many possibilities: renewable energies, green hydrogen, infrastructure, health complex, aerospace, education, science and technology, agriculture. It is possible to advance much further”, explained Alckmin.

Still in this strategy, Lula appointed former president Dilma Rousseff to preside over the New Development Bank of the Brics (NBD). The institution known as Banco do Brics is headquartered in Shanghai and Dilma is appointed as a person who has a good relationship with Xi Jinping.

Lula will try to attract investment from China to the Amazon Fund

On another front, Lula also intends to attract China to the Amazon Fund. Government leaders believe the Chinese government can be drawn in after the United States confirmed it will also join the fund. The expectation is that the White House will announce in the coming weeks the amount that will be passed on by the US.

They already donate to the Amazon Fund Germany and Norway, in addition to Petrobras. Spain and the G7 countries, the group of seven richest countries in the world, like France, are also considering joining.

In addition, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, has already indicated that Brazil wants to address issues ranging from increased joint production of satellites to strategies for environmental protection and poverty alleviation, in addition to trade. The government also intends to ask China for more explicit support for changing Brazil’s status to a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

According to Itamaraty, trade between Brazil and China ended 2022 with record exports and imports. Sales to China reached US$ 89.7 billion, the third consecutive annual record, while purchases from the Asian giant reached US$ 60.7 billion, according to data from the Brazil-China Business Council.

Lula will insist on a “peace club” to solve the war in Ukraine

After encountering resistance from the United States, Lula intends to advocate in China the creation of a “peace club” to resolve the war between Russia and Ukraine. Unlike the US government, which has supported Ukraine in the conflict, the government of Xi Jinping is one of the main partners of the Russian government of Vladimir Putin.

Despite this, Lula recently said that China is not “meddling in the discussion” of the war and added that his trip to the Asian country will be to try to find a way to participate in the resolution of the conflict. “We have to have people willing to negotiate, and they don’t. China is not involved in this discussion, the United States and Europe are supplying weapons to Ukraine,” Lula said in an interview with CNN Brasil.

In September last year, however, Xi Jinping said that “China stands ready to work with Russia to extend strong mutual support on matters concerning their respective core interests.” The statement came during a meeting with Putin, who praised China’s “balanced position” in the Ukraine war.

US suspects China will supply Russia with weapons

This week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States believes China is considering supplying Russia with weapons to help it in the war in Ukraine. So far, the US has identified that Beijing has only provided non-military aid to the Russians.

“Based on the information we have, (we believe) they are considering providing lethal support,” Blinken told CBS News in an interview that aired Feb. 19. The Chinese government denies the US secretary’s accusations.

“It is the United States that does not stop supplying weapons to the battlefield, not China. The United States is not qualified to give orders to China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

In January, Lula had already indicated that the Asian country needed to “get its hands dirty” to seek a way out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “And then I think our Chinese friends have a very important role. I, if I go to China in March, as planned, I want to talk about it with President Xi Jinping. It’s time for China to get its hands dirty” , he said.

However, for Luciano Munõz, professor of International Relations at the University Center of Brasília (UniCeub), the possibilities of the Chinese government agreeing to create a “peace club” championed by the Brazilian president are remote. In his evaluation, as well as the United States, which showed no interest in joining Lula’s peace club, China has its own interests with Russia’s war.

“There is no possibility on the horizon for this proposal to have a practical effect at the moment for the war. There is resistance from the US government, which supports Ukraine, in creating this peace club. The same must happen on the part of China, which is close to the Russia,” he argued.

Along the same lines, Gunther Rudizit, specialist in International Security and Asia and professor of International Relations at ESPM in São Paulo, states that the war in Ukraine involves greater interests and already counts on the involvement of other leaders, from more powerful nations, in the discussions . “Very difficult for China to agree [com o clube da paz]. I believe that Xi Jinping’s role [presidente da China] it will be just listening to Lula’s proposal. Everything indicates that the Chinese government intends to maintain its current position regarding the war,” he added.

Lula has international trips scheduled until September

In addition to the trip to China in March, the Itamaraty is already preparing an international travel schedule for Lula until mid-September. A visit to Portugal in April has already been arranged.

The president should also be invited to participate, and intends to attend, the G7 Summit, in May, in Japan. In July, it participates in the Summit of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), in São Tomé and Príncipe. He should also return to Argentina, the first country he visited in this new mandate, for the Mercosur Summit.

In August, Lula participates in the BRICS Summit, in South Africa, and in September, in the G20 meeting, in New Delhi, and in the United Nations General Assembly, in New York.