Braslia:

Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged “more voices” to end the Ukraine war and a ceasefire in Gaza, as he conducted a state visit to Brazil’s capital, Chinese state media said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva echoed those points as he met with Xi in a red-carpet welcome in Brasilia, and stressed a joint roadmap for peace in Ukraine that they are proposing.

“In a world plagued by armed conflicts and political strife, China and Brazil put peace, diplomacy and dialogue first,” Lula said.

Xi said he wanted to see “more voices committed to peace to pave the way for a political solution to the Ukraine crisis,” the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

He also called for “a ceasefire and an end to the war at an early date” in Gaza, the agency said.

On Ukraine, the China-Brazil roadmap for mediating peace has been endorsed by Russia — which is China’s ally — but rejected by Kyiv and its Western backers.

The Chinese president’s appeal for a halt to fighting in Gaza — where Israel is pressing an offensive against Hamas — echoed one he and the other G20 leaders made during a summit held Monday and Tuesday in Rio.

That summit’s joint statement called for a “comprehensive” ceasefire in both Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is also waging an offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council held a vote on a resolution calling for “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, but it was vetoed by Israel’s ally the United States.

China filling ‘vacuum’

Xi’s state visit to Brasilia showcased closer relations between the biggest economies in Asia and Latin America, which analysts said also reflected shrinking US influence.

The two leaders signed 35 cooperation accords on areas including agriculture, trade, technology and environmental protection.

Xi said China-Brazil relations “are at their best in history” and the two countries are now “reliable friends,” according to Xinhua.

Lula said he believed the growing Brazil-China ties “will exceed all expectations and pave the way for a new phase of bilateral relations.”

He added that he looked forward to welcoming Xi to Brazil again next July for a BRICS summit.

The Chinese leader figured prominently at the G20 summit, and at an APEC one held last week in Peru — in contrast with outgoing US President Joe Biden, who cut a spectral figure.

Fellow leaders looked past Biden, politically, to the coming US presidency of Donald Trump, which starts January 20.

“Xi Jinping is clearly looking to fill the vacuum that will come following the election of Trump, who does not value multilateralism,” Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations expert at Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation think tank, told AFP.

‘Synergies’ 

China is Brazil’s biggest trading partner, with two-way commerce exceeding $160 billion last year.

The South American agricultural power sends mainly soybeans and other primary commodities to China, while the Asian giant sells Brazil semiconductors, telephones, vehicles and medicines.

Since returning to power in early 2023, Lula has sought to balance efforts to improve ties with both China and the United States.

A visit to Beijing this year by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was seen as paving the way for Brazil to potentially join China’s Belt and Road Initiative to stimulate trade — a central pillar of Xi’s bid to expand China’s clout overseas.

But there was no announcement in that direction during Xi’s visit. Instead both leaders spoke of finding “synergies” between that Chinese program and Brazil’s own infrastructure development program.

South American nations that have signed up to Beijing’s initiative include Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

One of the accords signed Wednesday was on Brazil opening its market to a Chinese satellite company, SpaceSail, that competes with Starlink, founded and run by South African-born US billionaire Elon Musk, which already covers remote Brazilian regions.

Musk has a turbulent history with Brazil, whose courts forced his social media platform X to comply with national laws against disinformation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Rio de Janeiro:

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged G20 leaders Monday to support efforts to de-escalate the war in Ukraine and reach a “political solution,” state media reported.

His remarks at the G20 summit in Brazil come shortly after Ukraine received a US green light to launch long-range missiles provided by Washington against targets inside Russia.

“The G20 should support the United Nations and its Security Council in playing a greater role, and support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises,” Xi said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

He called for leaders to avoid “spillovers” from battlefields and escalation of fighting, and to help “cool the Ukraine crisis and seek a political solution.”

War in Ukraine continues to rage since Russia’s invasion in 2022.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

But it remains a close political and economic ally of Russia. NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war, which it has never condemned.

Following the long-range missile policy shift by US President Joe Biden, who leaves office in January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday his country was sending Ukraine 4,000 AI-guided drones.

Xi, in his speech Monday, also called for efforts to shore up multilateral trade systems and warned against “politicizing economic issues” without naming any specific countries.

His comments come before US President-elect Donald Trump reenters the White House in January, after campaigning on pledges to enact sweeping tariffs on China and others.

Washington also unveiled sharp tariff hikes this year on Chinese goods, notably on products like electric vehicle batteries and solar cells, as the United States tries to grow its domestic clean energy sectors.

“We must avoid politicizing economic issues, artificially dividing the global market, and avoid practicing protectionism in the name of green and low-carbon development,” Xi said.

In seeking cooperation on artificial intelligence, he added that this should not become “a game of rich countries and the wealthy.”

Xi called for “all sides to stop fighting” in Gaza as well, saying the war between Israel and Hamas has “brought heavy suffering,” CCTV reported.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)