Brazil’s Lula reschedules China trip, will meet Xi on April 14 in Beijing

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 14 in Beijing, his office said on Friday, rescheduling a visit that was postponed last week after Lula was diagnosed with a mild pneumonia.

Lula will leave for China on April 11 and intends to stick to the original agenda, including the signing of some 20 agreements with Brazil’s largest trading partner.

The trip’s aim is to upgrade relations with China now that Lula is back in office and seek new Chinese investment in the Latin American country. It will come two months after Lula met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, as Brasilia aims for a pragmatic foreign policy balancing ties with its top trading partners despite growing tensions between the two.

A visit to Shanghai, for the inauguration of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as chief executive of the New Development Bank, was later confirmed to April 13, his office said.

It will still be a state visit, with meetings with Xi, the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, and an event at the National People’s Assembly, Lula’s presidential office said.

(Reporting by Lisandra ParaguassuEditing by Frances Kerry and Josie Kao)