Lula and Xi Agree to Boost Chinese Presence in Brazil Despite Trump’s Threats

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Most of Brazil’s new transport infrastructure will ultimately lead to Chancay, with products destined for China and other Asian markets Brazil is eager to explore.

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The interest is mutual, as China seeks to expand its presence throughout a region the US has long considered its own. It is eager to build on the successful revival of Brazil’s automotive industry, which Chinese companies like BYD Co Ltd and Great Wall Motor Co Ltd fueled.

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Nationwide sales of electrified vehicles surged nearly 90% to more than 177,000 in 2024 from a year prior, according to Brazil’s electric vehicle association. Of that total, 61% were from Chinese brands, nearly all of which came from BYD and GWM.

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On the eve of Lula’s meeting with Xi, a group of Chinese businesses announced investments of 27 billion reais ($4.8 billion) in the South American nation over the coming years. Along with GWM, the list includes new semiconductor factories from Shenzhen Longsys Electronics Co Ltd and the arrival of both the world’s largest fast food chain, Mixue Group, and a delivery app called Keeta.

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“China has emerged as a major buyer from Brazil and what we want is to diversify the investment and partnership agenda,” Eduardo Saboia, the secretary for Asia and the Pacific at Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, said. “Our partnership is ambitious and the work is complex, dense and promising.”

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Lula has also joined China in using global multilateral institutions to push back against Trump’s trade policies, spearheading an agreement among the BRICS bloc of emerging market nations that criticized US protectionism last month.

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Without naming Trump, the group of 10 countries founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa raised “serious concerns about the rise of unjustified unilateral protectionist measures,” including reciprocal tariffs, in a statement that followed a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

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So far, that has generated little response from Washington, which has engaged in a diplomatic blitz in other corners of Latin America but largely avoided Brazil.

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That could change, however, as Lula’s government continues to embrace China while also seeking to capitalize on the trade war by moving into markets Trump’s tariffs have made more expensive for US agricultural goods. 

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Brazil plans to take more than 150 representatives of its agribusiness sector to China later this month for meetings, events and Asia’s largest food trade fair in Shanghai. It’s aiming for talks to expand trade for a long list of products that includes corn, ethanol, sorghum, sesame and coffee, said Luis Rua, the agriculture ministry’s secretary of commerce and international relations. 

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New approvals of Brazilian beef, pork and chicken plants for export to China will also be on the agenda. Brazil wants to discuss measures to start sorghum exports to China after it authorized purchases of the product late last year. And it’s seeking to open the Chinese market to Brazilian DDG, a byproduct of corn ethanol, and expand its exports of the biofuel.

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“In this time of trade war, Brazilian businessmen and the Brazilian government are making themselves available,” Rua said. “Showing our faces at this moment is important so the trade partner can see Brazil is there, including the decision-makers.”

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—With assistance from Andre Loureiro Dias, Clarice Couto and Franco Dantas.

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(Updates with details on other leaders meeting with Xi in paragraphs eight and nine. A previous version was corrected to show the value of the currency swap agreement expressed in reais rather than dollars.)

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