Brazil becomes second BRICS country after India not to join China’s BRI
PTI
In a major setback to China’s BRI, Brazil has decided against joining Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar initiative becoming the second country after India in the BRICS bloc not to endorse the mega project.
Brazil, headed by President Lula da Silva, will not join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and instead seek alternative ways to collaborate with Chinese investors, Celso Amorim, special presidential adviser for international affairs, said. Brazil wants to “take the relationship with China to a new level, without having to sign an accession contract”, he told Brazilian newspaper 'O Globo'.
“We are not entering into a treaty,” Amorim said, explaining that Brazil does not want to take Chinese infrastructure and trade projects as “an insurance policy”.
The decision contradicts China’s plans to make Brazil’s joining of the initiative a centrepiece of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Brasilia on November 20, the Hong Kong-based 'South China Morning Post' reported.
Brazil, headed by President Lula da Silva, will not join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and instead seek alternative ways to collaborate with Chinese investors, Celso Amorim, special presidential adviser for international affairs, said. Brazil wants to “take the relationship with China to a new level, without having to sign an accession contract”, he told Brazilian newspaper 'O Globo'.
“We are not entering into a treaty,” Amorim said, explaining that Brazil does not want to take Chinese infrastructure and trade projects as “an insurance policy”.
The decision contradicts China’s plans to make Brazil’s joining of the initiative a centrepiece of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Brasilia on November 20, the Hong Kong-based 'South China Morning Post' reported.