China Backs Brazil Against US 50% Tariffs Amid Trade Tensions

China has expressed strong support for Brazil against what it calls "arbitrary" and "bullying" US tariffs, following President Donald Trump's imposition of a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated China's backing of Brazil's right to development and opposition to tariff measures that violate WTO rules and the UN Charter during a phone call with Brazilian presidential advisor Celso Amorim. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced plans to use all available means, including the WTO, to defend Brazilian interests against these tariffs and affirmed Brazil's commitment to strengthening foreign trade despite US pressure. The US-Brazil relationship has further soured after Washington sanctioned a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice involved in investigating an attempted coup linked to former President Jair Bolsonaro. China, Brazil's main partner in Latin America and a key member of BRICS, is also expanding agricultural trade ties, notably by authorizing numerous Brazilian coffee exporters, signaling a strategic pivot to diversify Brazil's export markets amid rising geopolitical tensions. This stance underscores China's role as a strategic ally for Brazil in the face of increasing US trade and political pressures.