What does Brazilian presidential run-off hold for ties with top trading partner China?
- Incumbent Bolsonaro, known as the ‘Trump of the tropics’, expected to distance himself from Beijing
- Left-wing challenger Lula could strengthen bilateral ties and partnerships in the BRICS bloc
Brazil’s presidential election run-off at the end of this month between left-winger Lui Inacio Lula da Silva and far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro could shake up the country’s relationship with China, its top trading partner.
Lula, who will turn 77 three days before the October 30 run-off election, visited China in 2004 with more than 450 businessmen, laying the foundations for a thriving economic partnership. Bilateral trade hit a record US$135 billion last year, rising for a fourth consecutive year despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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But China’s relationship with Brazil has been frosty under Bolsonaro’s watch since 2019 due to tensions over China’s economic dominance and the origins of Covid-19.
During the election campaign in 2018, Bolsonaro accused China of attempting to deindustrialise Brazil and complained that it was “buying Brazil, instead of buying from Brazil”.
During the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo, who is also an influential politician, said it was China’s fault and “has a name and surname: the Chinese Communist Party”.
