Bolsonaro Returns to Brazil, After G20, Without Meeting Chinese President

By Xiu Ying

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was already in the waiting room, awaiting his bilateral meeting with China’s President, Xi Jinping when the engagement was canceled. This was one of the most anticipated gatherings of the Brazilian delegation because China is Brazil’s leading trading partner.

Furthermore, Bolsonaro held the same kind of formal meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two global economic giants are in the midst of a trade war, and Brazil has more to gain from keeping an even-handed stance from a diplomatic standpoint.

General Otávio do Rêgo Barros, spokesman for the presidency, explained that the Chinese president’s agenda of bilateral meetings had been delayed and that Bolsonaro could not wait. The delegation’s plane was scheduled to take off, and the president was due to stop by the hotel. “This is why the President decided to forego the bilateral meeting and, later, connections will be re-established. Logistics was the determining factor,” said Rêgo Barros.

Earlier, Bolsonaro had said at a press conference that he was due to visit China in October and could include Saudi Arabia on the same trip. On Friday, June 28th, Bolsonaro held a meeting with Trump, reaffirming the proximity established since March, when the Brazilian president was in Washington.

The bilateral meeting with China was not the only cancellation during Bolsonaro’s participation in the G20 in Osaka, Japan. He had a similar meeting scheduled with French President Emmanuel Macron in the press agenda. The appointment was canceled with little explanation. Bolsonaro and Macron eventually talked informally behind the scenes at the G20.