In the flesh: Xi meeting with airborne corps in Xiaogan, Hubei. — AP
PRESIDENT Xi Jinping will travel to Peru and Brazil next week for meetings of APEC and the G20, Beijing’s foreign ministry said.
Xi will go to Lima from Nov 13 to 17 and Rio de Janeiro from Nov 17 to 21, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.
In Peru, Xi will “attend the 31st Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting and pay a state visit”, Hua said.
And in Brazil, he will participate in a summit of G20 leaders, Beijing said.
China is Brazil’s top trading partner, exceeding US$180bil in each-way trade in 2023, with semiconductors, phones and pharmaceuticals dominating exports to the South American country.
Since returning to power last year, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has carried out a delicate balancing act as he seeks to deepen ties with China while improving relations with the United States.
Both Brazil and China have sought to position themselves as mediators in the conflict in Ukraine, while declining to sanction Russia for its invasion.
A visit this year by Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin was seen as paving the way for Brazil to join China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure project.
A number of South American nations, including Peru, have signed up to the initiative, a central pillar of President Xi’s bid to expand China’s clout overseas.
China is expected to unveil a huge support package for the struggling economy yesterday as officials wrap up a key meeting with an eye on the possibility of intensified trade tensions with US president-elect Donald Trump.
Policymakers were keeping tabs on the US vote as they gathered in the Chinese capital this week for a meeting of the country’s top lawmaking body.
Trump promised during his campaign of punishing tariffs on Chinese goods that threaten further grief for the world’s second-largest economy, which is already grappling with a prolonged housing crisis and sluggish consumption.
The meeting, originally scheduled for late October, was likely pushed back to allow “policymakers a chance to address a possible Trump win”, Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING, said.
Trump’s victory is “not necessarily bad for China as this may ‘pressure’ Beijing for a bigger stimulus”, Qi Wang, CIO of UOB Kay Hian Wealth Management, said on X.
State media this week reported that officials had reviewed a bill to raise local government debt ceilings.
That move, touted last month, would allow authorities to borrow more to fund the acquisition of unused land for development – a move aimed at pulling the property market out of a prolonged slump.
Beijing in September began to unveil a raft of measures aimed at boosting economic activity, including rate cuts and the easing of some home purchasing restrictions, but analysts have bemoaned the lack of detail so far.
Premier Li Qiang this week said he was “fully confident” that the country would hit its growth target of around 5% for 2024, even after figures showed the economy saw its slowest expansion in a year and a half during the third quarter. — AFP
