China wants to expand its relations with Brazil. "As comprehensive strategic partners, China and Brazil share far-reaching common interests," said state and party leader Xi Jinping on Friday at a state reception of Brazilian President Lula da Silva in Beijing. Lula was received in the Great Hall of the People with all military honors.

Jochen Stahnke

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Brazil is a "high priority" for China, Xi said, according to official figures. China's relations with Brazil have improved significantly since Lula took office in January of this year. China is Brazil's most important trading partner.

Lula criticises the peg to the dollar

In Beijing, the two heads of state attended the signing of numerous bilateral agreements, including in particular the areas of satellite technology and agriculture. Lula travelled to China with a delegation of numerous ministers and around three hundred company representatives. According to the state broadcaster CCTV, trade relations were discussed in particular.

On the Ukraine war, it was said that Xi and Lula agreed that a negotiated solution was necessary to end the war.

On Thursday, Lula had already attended the swearing-in of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as chairman of the China-sponsored New Development Bank in Shanghai. The bank was established within the framework of the BRICS community of states and finances infrastructure projects in Brazil and also in some other developing countries. China, for example, sees it as an alternative to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In his speech in Shanghai, Lula criticized the IMF and the dominance of the dollar. "Every night I wonder why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar," Lula said at the opening of the bank. In this context, he promoted agreements between Brazil and China that the Chinese yuan would be used more in trade between the two countries.

Under Lula, Brazil is trying to make its foreign policy more multilateral, but in February it also visited US President Joe Biden in Washington.