4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's Xi and Brazil's Lula hold phone call amid US trade rupture
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has spoken by phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for about an hour, in a high-level contact aimed at reinforcing ties with Brazil's largest trading partner while confronting a
sudden rupture in trade relations with the United States.
The call on Tuesday morning Beijing time, requested by Lula, had been in preparation for several days, according to Brazilian officials. Advisers at the Planalto Palace and the foreign ministry had been in contact with Beijing since last week to arrange the timing, which had to accommodate the 11-hour time difference with the Chinese capital.
Sources told the South China Morning Post that the decision to press ahead came after Lula consulted senior ministers about the potential impact of new US trade measures and the diplomatic message he wanted to send.
The conversation took place four days after US President Donald Trump's administration
imposed a 50 per cent tariff on a broad range of Brazilian exports, measures that threaten billions of dollars in annual trade.
Hours earlier, Washington extended a 90-day pause on similar duties for Chinese goods, highlighting a stark difference in treatment between Beijing and Brasilia.
02:12
Brazil plans to retaliate against US tariffs that partly aim to free former leader Bolsonaro
Brazil plans to retaliate against US tariffs that partly aim to free former leader Bolsonaro
