Brazil's Lula pushes Mercosur-China deal as nation caught in US-China rivalry

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for more than an hour, urging faster progress on a Mercosur‑China trade agreement and discussing flexibility on key issues. The leaders highlighted cooperation in high‑technology fields such as artificial intelligence, satellite technology, critical minerals and fertilizers, and noted cultural exchanges, visa‑waiver arrangements and bilateral trade benefits.

Lula also said the conversation touched on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and their impact on global food and energy security. Historian Niall Ferguson, commenting on the same geopolitical backdrop, warned that Brazil is "condemned to stay in the middle" of a renewed US‑China Cold War, with Taiwan as a flashpoint and Brazil’s economic dependence on China prompting a delicate balancing act between the two powers.

Both remarks underline Brazil’s effort to diversify markets while navigating heightened US‑China tensions that shape regional and global politics.