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Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, with Xi Jinping, inspects an honor guard in Beijing, on April 14.Photographer: Ken Ishii/Pool/Getty Images

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By Simone Iglesias

April 19, 2023 at 7:31 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came to an important decision during his visit to Xi Jinping last week: He will accelerate plans to move Latin America’s largest economy even closer to China and he doesn’t care if this upsets the US.

According to five high-ranking Brazilian government officials, the trip made it clear to Lula that China will be crucial to his goal of reviving Brazil’s industry. His plan includes courting Chinese companies to build new plants in Brazil, getting more funding from China and reducing the role of the dollar in foreign trade transactions, they said, requesting anonymity to discuss Lula’s strategy.