Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva postpones trip to China

Havana, March 25 (RHC) - Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will travel to China tomorrow, after the trip scheduled for today was postponed as it was confirmed that he is facing pneumonia, official sources reported.

According to Lula's advisor, the founder of the Workers' Party has "slight pneumonia", underwent examinations at the Syrian-Lebanese hospital in Sao Paulo, and then returned to the Alvorada Palace, the president's official residence in Brasilia.

The Brazilian president will travel to the Asian giant accompanied by 102 businessmen, as well as governors, senators, deputies and ministers, to strengthen relations in different areas. The federal government confirmed that the purpose of the trip is "to promote the relaunch of relations with what has been the country's main trading partner since 2009."

Last year, China imported more than 89.7 billion dollars in Brazilian products, especially soybeans and minerals, and exported almost 60.7 billion dollars to the domestic market.

The trip also occurs in the week in which Brazil exports beef again after a month of suspension. Sales of the product were interrupted after the discovery on February 22 of a case of the so-called Mad Cow Disease (brain disease in adult bovines that can be transmitted to humans through contaminated meat) on a farm in the municipality of Marabá, in the northern state of Pará.

Other areas of note in the visit schedule include tourism between the two countries and investment. 

In addition, it is expected that at least 20 bilateral agreements will be signed, including the one for the construction of CBERS-6, the sixth in a line of satellites built in partnership between Brazil and China. The differential of the new model is a technology that allows the monitoring of biomes such as the Amazon jungle even with clouds.

On March 28, the Brazilian head of state will meet in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Qiang and the head of the National People's Congress, Zhao Leji. The following day will be dedicated to a business event promoted by the High Level Sino-Brazilian Commission and the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, with the participation of Brazilian businessmen.

Lula’s last official engagement in the country will be in Shanghai, where he will visit the headquarters of the New Development Bank, an entity created by the BRICS (a group made up of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa) to promote projects in developing countries.