Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone conversation to discuss the role of BRICS and opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation, according to statements from Lula’s office and Chinese state media.
The call took place as Lula moves to rally BRICS partners in response to recent U.S. tariffs. China signaled its readiness to work with Brazil in demonstrating unity and resilience across the Global South.
Last week, Lula announced plans to engage BRICS leaders on strategies to counter Trump’s tariffs, following the former U.S. president’s description of the bloc as “anti-American” and his threat of further trade penalties.
Xi described BRICS as a vital platform for building consensus among Global South nations and expressed China’s willingness to work with Brazil as a model of unity and self-reliance.
Agricultural trade featured prominently in the discussion, with Brazil’s soybean and coffee sectors seeing increased engagement with Chinese markets amid Western tariffs. China, the world’s largest soybean importer, sources most of its supply from Brazil. Recently, several Brazilian coffee producers entered the Chinese market after facing steep U.S. tariffs.
Chinese state media Xinhua reported that China also voiced support for Brazil in opposing “bullying behaviour” through excessive tariffs — without directly naming the U.S. Xi called Brazil–China relations “at their best in history” and urged joint action to address global challenges, including promoting a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis.
