A recent visit to China by Celso Amorim, special advisor to the president of Brazil, marks a significant milestone not only in bilateral relations but also in the collective international diplomacy and independent position of the Global South.
On May 23, Amorim met China’s top foreign affairs official Wang Yi, who said that that China and Brazil are both major developing countries and emerging economies, as well as major members of BRICS, and their relations go beyond the bilateral scope and have strategic and overall significance.
Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Brazil diplomatic ties, Wang said that the two countries should systematically review their successful experience over the last half century.
He went on to observe that the world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, adding that it is heartening to see that the Global South countries represented by China and Brazil have achieved a collective rise and promoted a more balanced and reasonable structure of world power.
China will fully support Brazil’s work as the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, adding that China also attaches importance to promoting cooperation with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and is willing to strengthen coordination with Brazil to push for greater development of relations between China and Latin American countries.
Amorim also said that Brazil-China relations go beyond the bilateral scope and have strategic significance, adding that the sound development of Brazil-China relations is not only beneficial to the two countries, but also plays an important role in safeguarding the common interests of developing countries and is conducive to world peace and stability.
He noted that that China is Brazil’s largest market, and the trade volume between the two countries is close to 200 billion US dollars and this still has great potential for further development.
Brazil and China share the same position on many major issues, he continued, and Brazil supports Latin America and China in strengthening cooperation, and is willing to closely coordinate and cooperate with China on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, the G20 and BRICS to uphold multilateralism and oppose hegemonism.
Most significantly, the two sides exchanged in-depth views on the Ukraine crisis and jointly issued the “Common Understandings Between China and Brazil on Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis.”
In contrast to the one-sided and unrealistic initiatives of the imperialist powers and the present Ukrainian government, China and Brazil believe that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the crisis. All parties should create conditions for the resumption of direct dialogue and push for the de-escalation of the situation until the realisation of a comprehensive ceasefire. China and Brazil support an international peace conference held at a proper time that is recognised by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties as well as fair discussion of all peace plans.
They affirm that the use of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons and chemical and biological weapons, must be opposed. All possible efforts must be made to prevent nuclear proliferation and avoid nuclear crisis. Attacks on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities must be opposed. All parties should comply with international law including the Convention on Nuclear Safety and resolutely prevent man-made nuclear accidents. This last point clearly refers to the repeated, dangerous and irresponsible shelling by Ukrainian armed forces of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), which is presently controlled by the Russian army.
This six-point declaration is a vivid illustration of the rise of multipolarity and of the fact that the days when a handful of oppressor nations could dictate world affairs to the exclusion of the global majority are over.
The next day, at the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press conference, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that more countries are welcome to jointly play a constructive role in de-escalating the Ukraine crisis and promoting talks for peace. These six common understandings reflect not just the joint position of China and Brazil, but also the widespread concern and genuine desire of the vast international community for promoting a political settlement, he added.
“Many developing countries, including China and Brazil, have called for upholding an objective and just position on the Ukraine crisis,” he noted, adding that all of these countries believe that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way out. The “common understandings”, though jointly initiated by China and Brazil, are meant for the world.
“We welcome more countries, developing and developed countries alike, to support and endorse these common understandings, and jointly play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation and promoting talks for peace.”
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.
Top Chinese diplomat meets special advisor to Brazilian president
BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) — Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with Celso Amorim, special advisor to the president of Brazil, in Beijing on Thursday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said that China and Brazil are both major developing countries and emerging economies, as well as major members of BRICS, and bilateral relations go beyond the bilateral scope and have strategic and overall significance.
Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Brazil diplomatic ties, Wang said that the two sides should systematically review the successful experience of the development of bilateral relations in the past 50 years. They should take into account the changes in the international situation and the respective development strategies of both countries while making strategic plans with a forward-looking vision, so as to inject new connotations into China-Brazil relations, set new development goals, and jointly embrace the next “golden 50 years.”
Wang noted that the world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with the international situation becoming chaotic and intertwined and hotspot issues emerging one after another.
It is heartening to see that the “Global South” countries represented by China and Brazil have achieved a collective rise and promoted a more balanced and reasonable structure of world power, he said.
China will fully support Brazil’s work as the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, and stands ready to work with Brazil and other G20 members to ensure the success of the G20 Rio Summit, said Wang, noting that China attaches importance to promoting cooperation with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and is willing to strengthen coordination with Brazil to push for greater development of relations between China and Latin American countries.
Noting that Brazil-China relations go beyond the bilateral scope and have strategic significance, Amorim said that the sound development of Brazil-China relations is not only beneficial to the two countries, but also plays an important role in safeguarding the common interests of developing countries and is conducive to world peace and stability.
Amorim said that Brazil attaches great importance to cooperation with China, adding that China is Brazil’s largest market, and the trade volume between the two countries is close to 200 billion U.S. dollars, which still has great potential for development.
Amorim said that Brazil is ready to communicate closely with China, plan cooperation in various fields, expand the scale of trade and investment, expand new fields such as artificial intelligence and the digital economy, and constantly enrich the connotation of Brazil-China comprehensive strategic partnership.
Noting that Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attaches great importance to poverty eradication, and China has made remarkable achievements in this regard, Amorim said the two sides can strengthen exchanges and cooperation.
Amorim said that Brazil and China share the same position on many major issues. Brazil supports Latin America and China in strengthening cooperation, and is willing to closely coordinate and cooperate with China on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, the G20 and BRICS to uphold multilateralism and oppose hegemonism.
The two sides exchanged in-depth views on the Ukraine crisis and jointly issued the “Common Understandings Between China and Brazil on Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis.” The two sides agreed that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way out of the crisis, and all parties should create conditions for the resumption of direct dialogue.
The two sides also expressed their support for an international peace conference recognized by Russia and Ukraine at an appropriate time, with the equal participation of all parties, and fair discussion of all peace proposals.
Members of the international community are welcome to support and endorse the common understandings, jointly provide a strong voice to cool the situation, and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks, said the document.
Common Understandings Between China and Brazil on Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis
BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) — The following is the Common Understandings Between China and Brazil on Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis issued on Thursday.
Common Understandings Between China and Brazil on Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis
On May 23, 2024, H.E. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, met with H.E. Celso Amorim, Chief Advisor to the President of Brazil, in Beijing. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on pushing for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and calling for the deescalation of the situation, and reached the following common understandings:
1.The two sides call on all relevant parties to observe three principles for deescalating the situation, namely no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation by any party.
2.The two sides believe that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis. All parties should create conditions for the resumption of direct dialogue and push for the deescalation of the situation until the realization of a comprehensive ceasefire. China and Brazil support an international peace conference held at a proper time that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties as well as fair discussion of all peace plans.
3.Efforts are needed to increase humanitarian assistance to relevant regions and prevent a humanitarian crisis on a larger scale. Attacks on civilians or civilian facilities must be avoided, and civilians including women and children and prisoners of war (POWs) must be protected. The two sides support the exchange of POWs between the parties to the conflict.
4.The use of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons and chemical and biological weapons must be opposed. All possible efforts must be made to prevent nuclear proliferation and avoid nuclear crisis.
5.Attacks on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities must be opposed. All parties should comply with international law including the Convention on Nuclear Safety and resolutely prevent man-made nuclear accidents.
6.Dividing the world into isolated political or economic groups should be opposed. The two sides call for efforts to enhance international cooperation on energy, currency, finance, trade, food security and the security of critical infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines, undersea optical cables, electricity and energy facilities, and fiber-optic networks, so as to protect the stability of global industrial and supply chains.
The two sides welcome members of the international community to support and endorse the above-mentioned common understandings, and jointly play a constructive role in deescalating the situation and promoting peace talks.
China welcomes more countries to jointly promote de-escalation of Ukraine crisis: spokesperson
BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) — A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday said it is welcome to see more countries to jointly play a constructive role in de-escalating the Ukraine crisis and promoting talks for peace.
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing when asked to introduce the “Common Understandings Between China and Brazil on Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis,” which was issued by the two sides on Thursday.
Wang said that top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi met with special advisor to Brazilian president on Thursday in Beijing. They had an in-depth exchange of views on the Ukraine crisis, and reached six common understandings.
These six common understandings reflect not just the joint position of China and Brazil, but also the widespread concern and genuine desire of the vast international community for promoting political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson said with the full-blown Ukraine crisis now in its third year, the fighting has shown no sign of stopping and generated more spillovers. It is widely believed that the pressing priority is to cool down the situation and accumulate conditions for ceasefire, he added.
“Many developing countries, including China and Brazil, have called for upholding an objective and just position on the Ukraine crisis,” Wang said, adding that all of these countries believe that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way out of the crisis.
Wang noted that the common understandings, though jointly initiated by China and Brazil, are meant for the world.
“We welcome more countries, developing and developed countries alike, to support and endorse these common understandings, and jointly play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation and promoting talks for peace,” said the spokesperson.
