Brazilian President Lula da Silva will hold bilateral discussions with President Xi Jinping on May 13, after both attend the 10th Anniversary CELAC-China Forum in Beijing. This will be the third meeting between the two Presidents since Lula began his third term in 2023, their most recent one during Xi Jinping’s state visit to Brazil in November 2024. China views President Lula as “an impactful leader of a major Latin American country and a seasoned global statesman,” so this visit carries special significance in this time of global turbulence, China’s Foreign Ministry pointed out.
The first economic agreements of the trip were announced at a big Chinese-Brazilian Business Forum in Beijing. Medical supply companies from both nations signed MOUs for co-production in Brazil of medical equipment (MRIs, particle accelerators, digital X-Ray and portable ultrasound machines). Also signed were MOUs for collaboration on developing vaccines and producing strategic inputs for medicines.
Lula da Silva used his closing remarks at the business forum to address the criticisms constantly thrown at countries which develop economic relations with China.
The purpose of governing “is to measure the quality of life its people will have after the President’s term is over,” Lula told the businessmen. That’s why the relationship between Brazil and China is special; “it is a relationship between two countries that are committed to solving the problem of impoverishment that has plagued the lives of these countries for a long time. It’s remarkable that in 40 years China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty. Just as it is remarkable that in just 10 years Brazil has lifted 54 million people out of hunger in my country.”
