Brazilian officials work with China on details of joining belt and road

Name: Brazil’s President Lula meets with Xi, seeks to expand trade, Chinese investments and talk Ukraine
Uploaded: 2024-09-23T20:37:20.000Z
Duration: 4 min
Description: Brazil’s President Lula meets with Xi, seeks to expand trade, Chinese investments and talk Ukraine

Over worries about relations with Washington, Brazil’s president is being urged to postpone an announcement until after the US presidential election

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese leader Xi Jinping attend a Brics summit with officials from Russia, India and South Africa in 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Igor Patrickin Washington

Published: 4:37am, 24 Sep 2024

The Brazilian government has established an inter-ministerial working group to analyse Brazil’s entry into the Belt and Road Initiative in the coming days, while also examining the potential impact of membership on relations with Washington in the event of a Donald Trump victory in the US presidential election.

The local news site ICL Notícias first reported the news, which The Post confirmed on Monday.

Sources familiar with the matter say the Chinese embassy in Brazil has informed the Brazilian presidency that it expects to formalise membership during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to the country in November. The initiative is Xi’s plan to link global economies into a China-centred trading network.

However, diplomats from Brazil’s foreign ministry have reportedly advised President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to postpone the announcement until the outcome of the US presidential election on November 5 is known.

Brasilia has not officially commented on the US race, but Lula has spoken out in favour of Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic contender. According to CNN Brasil, he discussed the matter with leaders of Brazil’s House of Representatives in early September and said: “God willing, Kamala will win this election.”

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Brazil’s President Lula meets with Xi, seeks to expand trade, Chinese investments and talk Ukraine

Diplomats favouring a delay in announcing Brazil’s joining of the Belt and Road Initiative fear that Lula’s preference for Harris, combined with Brazil’s entry into the Chinese initiative, could complicate relations with a potential Trump administration in 2025. The aim is to avoid the impression that Brazil is joining China in an anti-US alliance.