Xi and Lula used a July 27 phone call to deepen China-Brazil coordination, including fast-tracking Mercosur-China trade talks and expanding cooperation in AI, minerals, energy and other strategic sectors.
The push came as Brazil faces sharper US pressure: a 25% tariff on Brazilian goods has taken effect, and Washington has pressed Brasilia to limit critical-minerals access for entities seen as linked to Beijing.
Both leaders framed the response in multilateral terms, backing stronger BRICS coordination, support for the UN and opposition to external interference and power politics.
July 22 talks between foreign ministers Wang Yi and Mauro Vieira had already set the line, with Brazil also agreeing to join China’s World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization.
The diplomatic alignment broadens Brazil’s options ahead of its Oct. 4 presidential vote, after it also rejected visas for two US State Department officials over election-interference concerns.