BEIJING: Brazil’s president will begin a five-day trip to China on Saturday, Beijing announced, ahead of a gathering of Latin American leaders in the country next week.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s state visit comes at the invitation of counterpart President Xi Jinping and will last until Wednesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.
Since returning to power in early 2023, Lula has sought to improve ties with both China and the United States.
Beijing is Brazil’s biggest trading partner. Its exports to China reached more than $94 billion last year, according to the United Nations Comtrade Database.
The South American agricultural power sends mainly soybeans and other primary commodities to China, while the Asian giant sells semiconductors, telephones, vehicles and medicines to Brazil.
The two presidents are expected to attend next week’s summit between China and the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
China is seeking to replace the United States as the main political and economic external influence in Latin America, where leaders have urged a united front against President Donald Trump’s global tariff blitz.
Two-thirds of Latin American countries have joined Beijing’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure program, and China has surpassed the United States as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru and Chile, among others.
Brazil’s Lula to visit China ahead of regional summit
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Brazil’s Lula to visit China ahead of regional summit
- Beijing is Brazil’s biggest trading partner. Its exports to China reached more than $94 billion last year
Swedish PM rejects Trump’s tariffs threat over Greenland
- “We won’t let ourselves be intimidated,” Kristersson said
- “Only Denmark and Greenland decide questions that concern them”
STOCKHOLM: Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Saturday rejected US President Donald Trump’s threat to European nations of swingeing tariffs if they did not let him acquire Greenland.
“We won’t let ourselves be intimidated,” he said in a message sent to AFP. “Only Denmark and Greenland decide questions that concern them.
“I will always defend my country and our allied neighbors,” he added, stressing that this was “a European question.
“Sweden is currently having intensive discussions with other EU countries, Norway and the United Kingdom to find a joint response,” he added.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated his quest to acquire Greenland, threatening multiple European nations with tariffs of up to 25 percent until his purchase of the Danish territory is achieved.
His threats came as thousands of people protested in the capital of Greenland against his wish to acquire the mineral-rich island at the gateway to the Arctic.
Thousands more protested in Copenhagen and other Danish cities.
