Brazil is willing to work closely with China to safeguard the authority of the United Nations, strengthen Brics cooperation, and uphold regional and global peace and stability, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday (23). Lula called the Chinese president in the morning, Beijing time.
“Brazil and China are important forces in defending multilateralism and upholding free trade. Given the current worrying international situation, Brazil is willing to work closely with China to safeguard the authority of the United Nations, strengthen Brics cooperation, and maintain regional and global peace and stability,” Lula said, according to an official statement released by the Chinese government.
The phone conversation took place just hours after Lula spoke with Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about the prospects for rebuilding the Gaza Strip and the ongoing peace plan in the Middle East. The call with Abbas occurred on the same day that U.S. President Donald Trump announced the creation of a so-called “Peace Council” for Gaza.
The last time Lula and Xi spoke was in August last year, amid the imposition of trade tariffs by the Trump administration on several countries. At the time, Xi reiterated China’s support for Brazil against what he described as “unilateral intimidation” and said that “China supports the Brazilian people in defending their national sovereignty and Brazil in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests.”
During Thursday’s phone call, Xi Jinping highlighted that in 2024 the two leaders jointly announced the elevation of bilateral relations to a Brazil-China Community of Shared Future for a More Just World and a More Sustainable Planet (the official name of the partnership). “Over the past year, the construction of this community of shared future has gained momentum, and the alignment of our development strategies has deepened and become more practical, setting an example of solidarity and cooperation among Global South countries,” the Chinese president said.
Xi emphasized that 2026 will mark the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, a period in which the country will promote high-quality development through high-level opening-up, offering more opportunities for China-Brazil cooperation. “China is willing to work with Brazil to comprehensively advance mutually beneficial cooperation across all fields, promote further development of China-Brazil relations, and usher in a brighter future,” Xi stated.
The Chinese president also noted that the current international situation is turbulent and unstable, and that China and Brazil, as important members of the Global South, are constructive forces in maintaining world peace and stability and in reforming and improving global governance. “They should firmly stand on the right side of history, better safeguard the common interests of both countries and the Global South, and jointly uphold the central role of the United Nations and international justice and fairness,” Xi said.
Xi further reiterated that China is always willing to be a good friend and partner to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting the building of a China-Latin America community with a shared future.
For his part, Lula also said that Brazil is ready to work with China “to promote greater development in bilateral relations and in Latin America–China relations.”
