One day after the announcement of the tariff truce between China and the United States, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese leader Xi Jinping criticized unilateral policies and defended greater Latin America integration with the Asian giant during the China-Celac ministerial forum, held on Tuesday (13) in Beijing.
“Bullying and hegemonism only lead to self -assurance,” Xi said in his first public statement since the temporary agreement with Washington. The Chinese leader also promised to expand support for the development of Latin America: “China is ready to gather hands with its partners from Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said.
Lula reinforced the appeal for more regional protagonism and criticized unilateral trade tariffs. “The imposition of arbitrary tariffs only aggravates the situation” of global trade, he said. According to the Brazilian president, Latin America should avoid becoming the scene of power disputes. “We don’t want to repeat the story and staging a new cold war,” he said.
During the event, Lula asked Latin American countries to articulate to promote infrastructure projects in partnership with China. “Chinese support is decisive for taking from the role of highways, railways, ports and transmission lines,” he said. He stressed, however, that “the economic viability of these projects depends on the coordination capacity of our countries.”
The Brazilian president also suggested that Latin America and the Caribbean have the right to appoint the next UN Secretary-General, and to be a woman. About technology, he defended a more equitable inclusion: “The development of artificial intelligence should not be a privilege of few.”
At the end of his speech, Lula highlighted the need for regional union. “Either we joined between us and look for partners who want with us to build a shared world or Latin America tends to remain a region that represents poverty in today’s world,” he said.
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Created ten years ago, the China-Celac Forum brings together ministers and leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen cooperation with China.
(With Estadão and Folha de S.Paulo)
