Brazilian President Lula da Silva visits China, set to meet with President Xi Jinping

where he is scheduled to

meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. Lula, accompanied by his wife Rosangela “Janja” da Silva, was greeted upon arrival by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, according to the same source. This official visit to Brazil’s primary commercial partner was initially scheduled for 25 March-31 March but had to be postponed due to Lula’s bout of pneumonia. “We are going to consolidate our relationship with China. I am going to invite Xi Jinping to Brazil for a bilateral meeting to show him projects where we want Chinese investments,” said the Brazilian President on Monday, during the public radio programme Voz do Brasil.

Lula did not specify when he would like the Chinese President to go to Brazil. The Brazilian President is leading a delegation of around forty political representatives, including nine ministers, state governors, and parliamentarians. Lula is due to attend the inauguration of former left-wing Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016) as head of the Brics bank in Shanghai on Thursday. During his meeting with Xi on Friday in Beijing, he is expected to touch on issues relating to the conflict in Ukraine. Both countries, which have not imposed sanctions on Russia, intend to play a mediating role. This is Lula’s fourth official visit to China since he began his third term in January, after his earlier presidency from 2003 to 2010.