Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left for China at 7 am Tuesday (Beijing time) after postponing his March trip due to pneumonia, Brazilian media reported. This is his third official visit to China as Brazil's president, which is scheduled to end this weekend.
Lula will sign at least 20 bilateral agreements while in China, including a treaty allowing the construction and launch of new environmental monitoring satellites capable of monitoring the entire Brazilian territory and even the Amazon forest, even in cloudy weather.
In addition, the Brazilian government hopes to sign a digital authentication agreement with the Chinese government to speed up the flow of products between the two countries and reduce red tape for Brazilian exporters. Another agreement heralds a direct link between the yuan and Brazil's currency, the real, without the use of the dollar, which could simplify trade between China and Brazil.
In an interview with the Voice of Brazil, Lula said he hoped to persuade the Chinese to invest in Brazil, especially in new areas such as roads, railways and hydropower plants.
The president was accompanied by Fernando Haddad, Brazil's finance minister; Marina Silva, the environment and climate change minister; and Carlos Favaro, the agriculture and livestock minister Favaro; Luciana Santos, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation; Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Alexandre Silveira, Minister of Mines and energy; and Paulo Teixeira, Minister of Agricultural Development Teixeira) and Wellington Dias, Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Food against Hunger.
In 2022, China imported more than $89.7 billion of Brazilian products, especially soybeans and minerals, while exporting nearly $60.7 billion to the Brazilian market, according to Brazil's presidential office. Trade between the two countries has increased 21-fold since Lula's first visit to China in 2004.
First on his schedule on Thursday morning, Lula will attend the inauguration of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as head of the BRICS New Development Bank.
