Model ‘self-reliance’ for Global South, says Xi

(FILES)(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on August 11, 2025 shows Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) during a press conference at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on June 3, 2025, and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) as he leaves Red Square after the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2025. China's President Xi Jinping told his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that the two countries could set an example of "self-reliance" in a phone call on August 12, 2025, state media reported. (Photo by EVARISTO SA and Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / various sources / AFP)

China’s President Xi Jinping told his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (pic) that the two countries could set an example of “self-reliance” in a phone call yesterday, state media reported.

The two leaders have both sought in recent months to present their countries as staunch defenders of the multilateral trading system – in stark contrast with US President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught.