BRAZILIAN President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai today as he aims to support Beijing’s attempts to mediate in the Ukraine war and boost trade ties.

Lula, as he is known, is due to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing tomorrow before flying home on Saturday.

Brazil has shown support for the 12-point peace plan put forward by China to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The Chinese plan includes a proposal to end the use of unilateral sanctions by countries such as the United States.

Key to this are efforts by Brazil and China to end the global South’s reliance on the US dollar in trade and other financial transactions.

China and Brazil have agreed to carry out bilateral trade in their own currencies and work is under way on developing a new currency for the global South.

The New Development Bank, based in Shanghai, will play a major role in this process. Former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, a close adviser to Lula, is set to become the bank’s new head and her successor will attend her swearing-in during his visit.

The institution will provide an alternative to the US-controlled International Monetary Fund and World Bank, being focused on the Brics group of developing nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

It has also attracted membership enquiries from Saudi Arabia, Iran and a number of Latin American nations.

Established more than seven years ago, the bank has approved 99 loan projects totalling more than $34 billion (£27bn), mainly for infrastructure projects, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

During his meeting with Mr Xi, Lula is expected to discuss trade, investment, reindustrialisation, energy transition, climate change and peace agreements, according to the Brazilian government.

China is Brazil’s biggest export market, each year buying tens of billions of dollars worth of soya beans, beef, iron ore, poultry, pulp, sugar cane, cotton and crude oil. 

Brazil is Latin America’s biggest recipient of Chinese investment, according to Chinese state media.  

One of the at least 20 bilateral agreements that is Lula is due to sign in China will be for the construction of a sixth satellite under a binational programme to monitor areas such as the Amazon rainforest.

Lula’s visit to China is a sign of Brazil’s re-emergence in global relations since he replaced far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro in January.