Xi Jinping gets state visit in place of Biden, who will not make it to Brasilia

Brazilian President Luiz InAcio Lula da Silva is planning several engagements with his Chinese and US counterparts, built around their trips to the South American country – including one to the Amazon – for the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next month.

US President Joe Biden will attend the multilateral summit in Rio de Janeiro in person, a senior White House official said on Wednesday, while a Brazilian government official confirmed that Lula will host Chinese President Xi Jinping for an official state visit immediately after G20.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that during the trip, Biden plans to widen discussions on the Partnership for Workers’ Rights.

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That initiative was launched with Lula on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last year and is focused on combating forced labour, promoting investment standards that support “decent” jobs, empowering workers and eliminating discrimination in the workplace.

Lula and Biden, Sullivan said, will be “looking to expand that to include other countries”.

The White House official also emphasised that US participation in this year’s G20 summit will be focused on “spearheading an effort that calls for the international financial institutions and the major creditors in the private sector to step up their relief for countries facing high debt burdens”.

The global debt issue emerged as a high priority at India’s G20 summit last year, where Indian diplomats proposed that major lenders, particularly China – the world’s largest sovereign creditor – accept substantial reductions in lending rates.

Beijing rejected these calls, instead insisting that resolving the debt crisis required “joint action” and an “in-depth analysis of the causes of global debt issues and to solve the problem in a comprehensive and effective manner”.

The China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, also accused India of using debt restructuring to discredit Beijing by promoting the “debt trap” theory – which suggests China lends to poor countries to extract strategic military and political concessions.

While Sullivan has confirmed Biden’s coming trip, the White House has not released an official schedule.

However the meetings end up, they underscore the extent to which Washington and Beijing are competing for influence in Brazil and more broadly across Latin America.

Lula revealed earlier this year that his administration was putting together “a proposal to join” the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s flagship infrastructure and investment project.

Washington is trying to counter the belt and road through funding led by its International Development and International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) and other agencies.

Sources told The Post on Wednesday that the US president will travel first to the Apec Summit in Peru, a six-day event that starts on November 10, followed by a stop to a city in the Amazon rainforest before heading to the G20 summit.

The Amazon visit, planned for Belem – the 2025 COP 30 host city – comes at Brazil’s invitation and could include an announcement of US contributions to a fund designed to finance efforts to protect the forest, whose health is vital as a major “sink” for global carbon emissions.

According to sources, this stop also serves to fill a diplomatic gap left by Biden, who is unable to stick with tentative plans to hold bilateral talks with Lula in Brasilia after the G20.

Instead, the Brazilian president will receive the Chinese leader Xi there for a series of events headed by several ministers from both countries and a state dinner.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.