Lula arrives in China to meet Xi Jinping, tells communist leader, "Brazil is back"

Brazilian President Luis Inácio "Lula" Da Silva arrived in China on Wednesday for a three-day official visit to the Asian giant, where he has engaged in a series of ongoing meetings with his counterpart, Xi Jinping, with hopes of bridging closer relations.

During the first two days of the trip, the president participated in the inauguration ceremony of the director of the New Development Bank, the financial entity of the BRICS —Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—, the former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff.

He then visited the headquarters of the technology company Huawei and met with the head of the Chinese Communist Party, Chen Jining in the city of Shanghai.

Finally, on Friday, Lula met with President Xi Jinping, as shown by images released on his official Twitter profile.

"With the president of China, Xi Jinping," the Brazilian president commented on Twitter, accompanied by a photo with his Chinese counterpart.

According to the international press, Lula was received by President Xi in a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where a military band played the national anthems of Brazil and China.

Com o presidente da China, Xi Jinping. 🇧🇷🇨🇳

📸: @ricardostuckert pic.twitter.com/TTUJmtQjYe

— Lula (@LulaOficial) April 14, 2023

Both plan to sign agreements on the environment, trade and cooperation; in addition to discussing the invasion of Ukraine.

In recent days, Da Silva declared that his country "is back" in the international community and intends to be a mediator in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

O Brasil voltou. E com vontade de fazer a diferença. De ajudar o mundo a ter um olhar diferente. E temos uma tarefa que não tínhamos há 10 anos: dispersar um ódio que achávamos que não existia mais.

— Lula (@LulaOficial) April 13, 2023

"The time when Brazil was absent from major world decisions is now a thing of the past (...) Brazil is back," he said in Shanghai.