By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil on Saturday wrapped up a state visit to China which seeks to strengthen economic ties between his country and Beijing.
During his trip, Lula accused the United States of “encouraging war” in Ukraine even as he paases a message that “Brazil is back” as a key player on the global stage.
He stressed that the South American country’s deepening relations with China were non-negotiable.
The left-wing leader condemned the power of the US dollar and the IMF. He met with representatives from Chinese tech giant Huawei, which has been effectively shut out of the US market.
“The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace. The European Union needs to start talking about peace,” Lula told reporters in Beijing.
In that way, the international community will be able to “convince” Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that “peace is in the interest of the whole world”, he said, before leaving for the United Arab Emirates.
Lula, who returned to power in January after serving two terms between 2003 and 2010, met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday.
The leaders called on developed countries to keep their promise to provide 100 billion dollars a year to the poorest countries to fight against the effects of climate change.
China and Brazil have not imposed sanctions against Moscow over Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine unlike West.
