Brazil’s Lula plans state visit for China’s Xi and talks in Amazon with US’ Biden

Xi Jinping gets state visit in place of Biden, who will not make it to Brasilia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are seen at a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2023. Photo: AFP / Brazilian presidency

Published: 4:41am, 24 Oct 2024Updated: 6:15am, 24 Oct 2024

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is planning several engagements with his Chinese and US counterparts, built around their trips to the South American country – including one to the Amazon – for the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next month.

US President Joe Biden will attend the multilateral summit in Rio de Janeiro in person, a senior White House official said on Wednesday, while a Brazilian government official confirmed that Lula will host Chinese President Xi Jinping for an official state visit immediately after G20.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that during the trip, Biden plans to widen discussions on the Partnership for Workers’ Rights.

That initiative was launched with Lula on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last year and is focused on combating forced labour, promoting investment standards that support “decent” jobs, empowering workers and eliminating discrimination in the workplace.

Lula and Biden, Sullivan said, will be “looking to expand that to include other countries”.

The White House official also emphasised that US participation in this year’s G20 summit will be focused on “spearheading an effort that calls for the international financial institutions and the major creditors in the private sector to step up their relief for countries facing high debt burdens”.

The global debt issue emerged as a high priority at India’s G20 summit last year, where Indian diplomats proposed that major lenders, particularly China – the world’s largest sovereign creditor – accept substantial reductions in lending rates.