The historic meeting between Lula and Xi is crucial for development and world peace, it points out. Global Timesin editorial

Editorial of the Global Times - Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, "an old friend of the Chinese people," begins his state visit to China on Wednesday. This is Lula's fifth visit to China, his first visit to a country outside the Americas since taking office in January, and his quickest trip to China as Brazilian president. The Brazilian side has high expectations for Lula's visit, stating that it will be a state visit of "economic, commercial, and political importance." There are also widespread expectations that China-Brazil relations will enter a new phase of "close political and economic ties." Under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, China and Brazil, side by side, will show the world a model of in-depth South-South cooperation.

Public opinion generally points to two striking characteristics of Lula's trip to China this time. The first characteristic is that the team accompanying Lula is impressive. At the official level, this visit includes high-ranking officials from several important departments. The number of visiting Brazilian congressmen has increased from an initial 27 to 39, and the president of the Brazilian Senate will also be coming to China. In the political ecology of Latin America, this "political unanimity" is rare. On the business front, despite a mega-delegation of over 200 businesspeople, more companies are still waiting to join the group, and hundreds of business representatives have already "flown into China" before Lula's visit. All this shows that Brazil, from the political arena to society, has a fervent expectation for the development of China-Brazil relations. Secondly, Lula's visit to China was previously postponed due to the president's health. Soon after his recovery, Lula travels to China with a full agenda. It can be said that he comes to China with complete sincerity, which also foreshadows that the results of cooperation between the two countries will be comprehensive in multiple areas.

As the two largest developing countries in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, China and Brazil clearly share common interests beyond a high degree of complementarity in the economic and commercial fields. Both countries face the heavy responsibility of economic and social development, and Brazil has, on several occasions, expressed its desire to learn from China in areas such as poverty reduction. By strengthening strategic alignment and coordination, China and Brazil will jointly promote the historical process of modernization of developing countries along their respective trajectories.

At the same time, both countries are important members of organizations and mechanisms such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and BRICS. Close communication and coordination between the two countries will help safeguard the general interests of developing countries and promote the development of the international order toward greater equity, justice, and rationality. In this sense, China-Brazil relations have transcended the bilateral sphere and have significant global influence.

Brazil has a population of over 200 million and is a "major player" among Latin American countries, as well as an important emerging economic power. Following his third term as President of Brazil, Lula promised to "make Brazil a global player" and demonstrated great ambition as a major power. China strongly supports this, and we sincerely hope that Brazil, as a leader among developing countries, will play a more constructive role in the international community.

Many Western media outlets and public opinion, when discussing Brazil's grand strategy, always focus on whether it should "lean toward" the US or China. This discussion itself is extremely disrespectful to Brazil and is full of shortsighted and narrow-minded hegemonic attitudes. China is also a victim of hegemonism and never points the finger at Brazil's internal and external affairs. Furthermore, we believe that Brazilians themselves are the ones who best know where their interests lie.

Peace Club

It is worth noting that the outside world has been paying close attention to whether Lula will discuss the crisis in Ukraine with China during his visit. Before meeting with US President Joe Biden, Lula proposed a peace plan called the "Peace Club," which suggested the formation of a multilateral organization including countries like China and India to mediate conflicts and called for respect for China's prominent role in safeguarding world security, peace, and mediating international conflicts. Although the US reacted coldly, the international community has high expectations that China and Brazil will work together to promote peace negotiations. Before his visit, Lula reiterated that he would discuss the possibility of ending the crisis in Ukraine through dialogue with China. In fact, neither China nor Brazil is part of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, both countries have similar views on the need for peace negotiations, which shows that, although the West is still fanning the flames, the voice of peace forces in the international community is growing.

The Chinese people love Brazil, a captivating and vibrant country, and welcome President Lula's visit. Previously, China had expressed its expectations for Lula's visit, highlighting some "new developments": opening new perspectives in China-Brazil relations in the new era at the level of heads of state, taking the comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, and making new contributions to regional and global stability and prosperity. We hope that, based on traditional bilateral trade and multilateral cooperation, the friendship between China and Brazil can flourish even further in a new historical stage, shining in the light of mutual learning between civilizations and bringing new inspiration for the development of human society.