Q:Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on April 12 arrived in China for a two-day state visit in an effort to strengthen bilateral political and economic ties, as well as gain support for his attempts at peace in Ukraine. Lula and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, discussed trade, investment, energy transition and peace agreements, the Brazilian government said. What agreements and achievements came from Lula’s visit to China, and what will Brazil gain from it? How likely is it that Brazil and China will suc- cessfully usher a peaceful resolution to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

A:Jiang Shixue, Professor and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University:

“China is the largest developing country in the world and Brazil the largest in the western hemisphere. Since they established diplomatic relations in 1974, the bilateral ties have been proceeding very smoothly and rapidly. President Lula’s recent trip to China has certainly added impetus to the development of bilateral relations in the future. Many agreements of cooperation in various fields were signed. The two sides also released a joint statement on combating climate change as well as a joint communique to strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership. When he was in Shanghai, the first stop of his trip, President Lula visited the research and development center of the technology company Huawei. Earlier, China and Brazil signed a memorandum on the Chinese currency RMB’s clearing in Brazil, and the first transaction was completed just a few days before Lula’s trip. He even endorsed China’s stance on Ukraine, which is stopping the war via peaceful talks and by not pouring oil on the fire. However, as O Globo’s interview with Thomas Shannon, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and former Ambassador to Brazil, indicates, the United States is not happy about Lula’s trip to China because what President Lula did and said in China was seen as an open defiance against the country where the Monroe Doctrine was created just two hundred years ago.”