Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will propose the formation of a bloc of countries that will push for peace in Ukraine when travels to Beijing this week, according to Portugal’s Lusa news agency.
The Brazilian leader, popularly known as Lula, is due to meet his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, on 14 April after a previous summit was postponed due to illness.
Lusa says that Lula will suggest to Xi that China, Brazil, Indonesia and India form a coalition of nations that “don’t conform to war”. The bloc would attempt to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine and seek Washington’s support.
Beijing’s participation was essential, Lula argued. “China’s economic, military and political importance and China’s relationship with Russia, and even China’s divergence with the United States, gives China extraordinary potential for conversation”, Lusa quoted him as saying.
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Trade will also feature prominently in Lula’s talks with Xi. China has been Brazil’s largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years and last year trade volume exceeded US$171 billion.
In a sign of growing rapprochement that will irk the US, the two nations recently agreed to ditch the US dollar in favour of their own currencies when trading with each other.
Closer relations between Beijing and Brasilia mean that Lula is optimistic that his Ukraine peace proposal will meet with a positive reception from Xi.
“I am confident that when I return from China … I will say that the group that will discuss peace has been created, which is what the world needs”, he said.
