Chinese President Xi Jinping called for reform of global institutions and emphasised his government’s shared views with Brazil on international matters, including the Ukraine war, ahead of his state visit to the South American nation.
In a wide-ranging opinion piece published in Brazil’s leading newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, Xi stressed the importance of increasing representation for Global South countries in multilateral organisations including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization.
“Macroeconomic policy coordination must be stepped up, and trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation promoted, to create an open, inclusive, and non-discriminatory environment for international economic cooperation,” the Chinese leader wrote.
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Xi said China and Brazil remain “committed to peace, development, fairness and justice” and are “staunch defenders of the basic norms of international relations and multilateralism”.
The Chinese leader noted that both nations developed a “six-point common understanding on political settlement of Ukraine crisis,” which he said garnered “a positive response from the international community.”
Chinese and Brazilian diplomats met on the UN General Assembly sidelines in September to discuss the Ukraine war crisis. The meeting, led by Brazil’s special adviser Celso Amorim and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, had representatives from 11 nations but notably excluded the United States and European Union.
Also excluded was Ukraine, whose leader – President Volodymyr Zelensky – criticised the initiative, saying that “Russia can only be forced into peace”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped short of endorsing the Chinese and Brazilian proposal, saying it could potentially be helpful under certain conditions.
“Any plan that’s grounded clearly in the principles of the United Nations charter – notably territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence – is something that’s worth looking at,” he told reporters in New York.
Talking up “synergies”, Xi’s article incorporated language used by Brazil regarding the Belt and Road Initiative.
Despite earlier expectations, Brazil’s government under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opted not to join the Chinese infrastructure project due to concerns about how that would impact relations with Washington.
Brazilian government envoys even travelled to Beijing to discuss a memorandum of accession. Amorim and Lula’s chief of staff, Rui Costa, returned from the Chinese capital unconvinced that joining would be in Brazil’s interest, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Since then, some officials in Brasilia have talked about seeking “synergies” between the belt and road investment funds and projects under the growth acceleration programme, one of Lula’s main priorities during this term.
Xi suggested that “promoting synergy between China’s belt and road and Brazil’s development strategies” would be a way to enhance “the strategic impacts of our mutually beneficial cooperation, broaden its scope, and break new ground”.
“We should foster more exemplary projects that align with the trend of the times and deliver lasting benefits to the people, and contribute to the common development of our countries and regions,” he added, mentioning green infrastructure, aligned with the challenges of climate change, as a priority.
Xi arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday for the G20 summit Monday and Tuesday. He will then visit Brasília on Wednesday for a state visit offered by Lula, where announcements are expected on Brazilian exports to China and Chinese investments in urban transport, aviation and electric vehicles.
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