Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, chair of the BRICS group this year, spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, Aug. 11, the latest in the series of calls to BRICS leaders that Lula had announced he would make, to sound out possible coordination in the face of President Donald Trump’s tariff war against developing nations. The two spoke for close to an hour, touching on common international concerns and bilateral matters, the read-outs from both party countries concur.
“China is ready to work with Brazil to set an example of unity and self-reliance among major countries in the Global South,” President Xi informed his Brazilian colleague, according to Xinhua. “China backs the Brazilian people in defending their national sovereignty and supports Brazil in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests, urging all countries to unite in resolutely fighting against unilateralism and protectionism.” Congratulating Lula for the successful BRICS summit in Brazil, Xi called the BRICS “a key platform for building consensus in the Global South, and “called on Global South countries to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, defend the basic norms governing international relations, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.”
Lula reported that the two had “exchanged views on the current international situation and the recent peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine. We agreed on the role of the G20 and BRICS in defending multilateralism.” Xinhua’s account specified that Lula had “briefed Xi on the recent situation of Brazil’s ties with the United States, as well as Brazil’s unwavering principled stance on safeguarding its own sovereignty,” and assured Xi that Brazil “stands ready to enhance communication and coordination with China in multilateral mechanisms such as the BRICS, oppose unilateral bullying practices, and safeguard the common interests of all countries.”
