Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was in Beijing this week, leading a large delegation. His busy schedule included meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, other officials, business leaders, and experts. A key focus of Lula’s visit was energy transition and clean technology. He held meetings with several Chinese automakers to discuss electric and hybrid car projects in Brazil.
There’s a new deal on producing sustainable aviation fuel in Brazil as well.
The China-Brazil joint statement includes clauses on supporting climate action, including a commitment from China to send a high-level delegation to COP30.
Another notable document is the Beijing Declaration, published after the meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum, also in Beijing this week. It calls on “all parties to consider acceding to international instruments on climate change.”
For climate watchers, these are important developments to highlight.
But beyond energy and climate, the headline theme also included multilateralism.
Reuters led their report with: “China, Brazil agree to defend free trade and multilateralism”.
And the joint statement was titled: “on strengthening the building of a China-Brazil community with a shared future for a more just world, a more sustainable planet, and jointly upholding multilateralism.”
Multilateralism also features prominently in the Beijing Declaration.
So why is multilateralism getting so much attention? And how might it shape our global climate efforts?
To explore this, I spoke with global governance expert Xu Feibiao. He is also the director of the Center for BRICS and G20 Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
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