Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva landed in Shanghai on Wednesday, according to images released by the Brazilian presidency, for a visit to China where he is to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday.
Mr. Lula, accompanied by his wife Rosangela "Janja" da Silva, was greeted when he got off the plane by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, according to the same source.
This official visit to Brazil's main trading partner was originally scheduled for March 25-31, but had to be postponed due to pneumonia in 77-year-old Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
"We are going to consolidate our relationship with China. I will invite Xi Jinping to Brazil, for a bilateral meeting, in order to show him the projects for which we want to attract Chinese investment", said the Brazilian president Monday evening, during the meeting. public radio broadcast Voz do Brasil.
He did not specify when he wanted the Chinese president to visit Brazil.
The Brazilian president is traveling at the head of a delegation which includes some forty political representatives, including nine ministers, state governors and parliamentarians.
Mr. Lula must attend Thursday in Shanghai the enthronement of the former left-wing president of Brazil Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016) at the head of the Brics bank, a group of emerging countries which brings together Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa.
During his meeting with Xi on Friday in Beijing, he must address the conflict in Ukraine in particular. The two countries, which have in common the fact of not having imposed sanctions on Russia, hope to be able to play the role of mediators.
This is the fourth official visit to China for Lula, who began his third term in January after a first stint as president from 2003 to 2010.
12/04/2023 22:37:43 - Shanghai (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
