China and Brazil should “jointly fend off external challenges”, China’s foreign minister told his Brazilian counterpart in Beijing on Monday, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Both countries agreed to deepen cooperation, safeguard world peace and stability, and defend the rights and interests of developing countries.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi held what China called “strategic dialogue” with Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira.
As key members of the BRICS group of developing nations, Beijing and Brasilia are pushing for a multipolar world order, seeking to dilute US dominance in global financial and political institutions.
The meeting came after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned a US decision to designate two Brazilian drug gangs as terrorist organisations, calling the move undue interference in his country’s internal affairs. The US announcement followed lobbying efforts in Washington by the sons of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
In a meeting with Trump last week in Washington, DC, Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is preparing a run for president with his father’s blessing, said he had asked the US to label the gangs as “terrorists”.
