Xi says China, Brazil can model ‘self-reliance' for Global South
China's President Xi Jinping told his Brazilian counterpart Tuesday the two countries could set an example of 'self-reliance' for emerging powers, as trade and geopolitical challenges mount.
The two leaders have both sought in recent months to present their countries as staunch defenders of the multilateral trading system -- in stark contrast with US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught.
Xi's call with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday came just hours after Trump announced another 90-day pause to blistering tariffs on China.
It also followed indications from Lula last week he planned to speak with the leaders of India and China to consider a coordinated response to US trade measures.
Xi told Lula that ties between China and Brazil are now at an all-time high, according to state news agency Xinhua.
He said China would 'work with Brazil to set an example of unity and self-reliance among major countries in the Global South' and 'jointly build a more just world and more sustainable planet', according to Xinhua.
Xi added that 'all countries should unite and firmly oppose unilateralism and protectionism', Xinhua reported -- a thinly veiled reference to US tariffs.
A statement by the Brazilian presidency said the phone call lasted about an hour, during which time Lula and Xi discussed a range of topics including the war in Ukraine and combatting climate change.
'Both agreed on the role of the G20 and BRICS in defending multilateralism', the statement said, referring to the Group of Twenty major economies and a bloc of emerging powers.
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Swarup said that America's ties with India should not be seen through the same lens as its relationship with Pakistan, and Washington and New Delhi's ties are less transactional and more strategic. 'I think the (United States') relationship with Pakistan right now is a very tactical one and is a short-term one, primarily motivated by the financial gain that the Trump family and Witkoff family hope to make from the cryptocurrency assets in Pakistan. With India, I think, the relationship is much more strategic. It is not so transactional as it is with Pakistan. That is why I feel that it is a passing phase. I call it a storm, not a rupture. You just have to wait out the storms. All storms eventually pass,' he said. He added, 'I think it's a strategic mistake on the part of the US that you are getting in bed with Pakistan, which is in bed with China. China is the US' strategic competitor.' 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