Brazil's Lula set to visit China to meet Xi Jinping; bilateral ties and Ukraine on focus

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil, is scheduled to meet Xi Jinping, the president of China. He will start his postponed trip to China this week with the goal of fostering closer ties in trade. Prior to flying to Beijing, where the Brazilian President will meet with his Chinese counterpart on Friday, he will arrive in Shanghai on Tuesday. He had been slated for a four-day visit in late March, but his diagnosis of the flu and pneumonia necessitated a change in plans, as reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Brazil primarily exports soybeans and iron ore to China, which happens to be the country's major buyer. According to Brazilian officials, the major objective of the visit is to broaden the country's commercial connections with China, Buenos Aires Times reported. 

240 business people, 90 of them from the agricultural industry, as well as representatives from all government ministries and 27 senators and congressmen made up the original delegation that was going to travel with Lula in March. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told reporters that the two leaders "will talk about the war in Ukraine." Lula wants to spread the word about his idea for mediated negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, as reported by Buenos Aires Times. 

Putin 'cannot keep Ukrainian territory', says Lula

The Brazilian leader suggested forming a group of nations to mediate peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since Brazil has been eager to position itself as a go-between. 

Last year, Lula faced criticism for claiming that Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine shared equal blame for the conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, he has declined to deploy arms to Ukraine to aid in its defence alongside other Western countries. Putin "cannot keep Ukrainian territory," he asserted on April 6. He, however, emphasised that Zelenskyy "cannot want everything" and he proposed Kyiv give up its claim to Crimea, which Russia acquired in 2014, SCMP reported.