Postponed on the advice of doctors
Lula cancels state visit to China ill
03/25/2023, 8:46 p.m
Brazil’s President Lula was originally supposed to work on a closer trade relationship with China next week. He also wanted to meet Head of State Xi in China to discuss joint mediation in the Ukraine war. However, those plans are now on hold.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has indefinitely postponed his planned state visit to China next week to recover from “mild pneumonia”. The 77-year-old has “decided to postpone his trip to China,” the presidential office said, without giving a new date. The Chinese authorities were informed of the postponement. We are now looking for a new date.
The departure for China was initially planned for Saturday, but had already been postponed by a day due to “mild pneumonia” caused by influenza A. After another examination on Saturday, the doctors recommended postponing the trip “despite the improvement in his condition”. The recommendation applies until Lula is no longer contagious, the doctor Ana Helena Germoglio was quoted as saying in the statement from the Presidential Office.
Lula wanted to travel to Beijing with a large delegation of six ministers, governors, lawmakers and senators, as well as around 200 business leaders. China is Brazil’s most important trading partner, the trade volume between the two countries amounted to 150 billion dollars last year.
On Tuesday, Lula wanted to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who had just visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia. The talks between Lula and Xi should focus on stronger trade relations, but also on mediation options in the Ukraine war.
Brazil wants to form a group of states to mediate in the Ukraine conflict. In this effort, Lula sees Beijing as an important partner. In February, China presented what it called a “peace plan” for Ukraine. However, Western heads of state and government regard the plan as not very credible due to China’s political proximity to Russia. Lula also aims to strengthen bilateral relations with China, which suffered greatly under his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.