PT signs cooperation agreement with Communist Party of China

A delegation from the Chinese Communist Party was in Brasília, this Wednesday (20), to meet with members of the Workers’ Party (PT) and renew cooperation between the two parties. In the document signed by the parties, the two parties commit to “strengthen coordination on regional and international issues.”

The objective, according to the document, is for the two parties to align thoughts and initiatives in their respective countries. In one of the articles present in the agreement, the parties agree to maintain “close communication and consultations, particularly when dealing with issues that involve the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and self-determination of the two countries, as well as providing mutual support to inter-party initiatives international parties of the other party”.

The Chinese delegation arrived at the PT building with around 40 members. Led by Li Xi, secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, only 12 people from the CCP met with PT members to sign the Agreement of Understanding on Exchange and Cooperation. On the Brazilian side, seven members of the PT and Gleisi Hoffmann, president of the PT, signed the document.

The rapprochement between the two countries, however, has generated criticism due to the authoritarian regime imposed by Xi Jinping in China. As Chinese president for more than 10 years, Jinping is accused of a series of crimes against human rights, of restricting the population’s access to the internet and manipulating the news published in the local press.

At the meeting, Gleisi reiterated that the relationship between the two parties has lasted 40 years and said that he intends to strengthen ties with China in the coming years. In the signed agreement, the parties committed to “intensifying the exchange of high-level visits, updating each other on each party’s important agendas, and strengthening permanent strategic communication around prominent regional and international issues.”

A People’s Gazette, Gleisi Hoffmann said that the PT has been working with China to hold a new meeting between the parties. A PT delegation has already been to Beijing twice this year, to carry out “sociopolitical exchange activities”.

Protests against the meeting in Brasília

A group of protesters from the Democracy Without Borders Brazil (DSF Brazil) movement was present at the PT headquarters this Wednesday to protest against the presence of the Communist Party of China in Brasília.

The event took place with the display of banners with phrases such as “Lula and PT, Brazil is not China”. “Long live freedom and democracy”, “No to the dominance of the Chinese government”, Brazil is a democracy. Not China! ”

“It is unacceptable that our government is establishing cooperation agreements with a notoriously authoritarian regime, which brutally oppresses its own population and systematically disrespects human rights”, highlights Rhuan Fellipe Cardoso, president and spokesperson for the movement.