the presidents of brazil and china are due to hold talks in beijing shortly. luiz inacio lula da silva and xijinping are expected to sign trade deals. they will also discuss the war in ukraine. our correspondentjoao da silva has the latest from singapore. well, we don t know the exact contents of the agenda, but, as you mentioned there, there is at least a couple of issues that are likely to make it into the talks. first, of course, it is trade and investment. the brazilian side has said they expect to sign more than 20 bilateral agreements. it signals their desire to strengthen economic relations with china. president lula who was returned to power only a few months ago knows he needs brazil s largest trading partner if he is to deliver on his promises to fight poverty and to really boost brazil s stagnant economy. and china, it is also interested in consolidating trade ties with brazil. beijing is facing growing tensions with the us which is its largest trading partner, and
home in connecticut. the statement from kissinger associates did not give a cause of death. tributes have started pouring in. former president george w bush has said on x america has lost one of the most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs with the passing of henry kissinger. here s a look back at his life from our diplomatic correspondent james landale. to some, henry kissinger was one of the cold war s most influential statesman who advised presidents and prime ministers for decades. to others he was a war criminal. we call for the arrest of henry kissingerfor war we call for the arrest of henry kissinger for war crimes. whose ruthless defence of american interest cost thousands of lives. he was born heinz kissinger in nazi germany. hisjewish family fled to america in 1938 but the young henry, as he became, returned to europe fighting with the us army. in peacetime the soldier became a scholar at harvard university making his name arguing that nuclear
virtually instead. live now to patrick gaspard, president and ceo of the center for american progress, and a former us ambassador to south africa. thank you forjoining us. we see china s xijinping is attending the summit in person, how significant do you think that is? ., ~ , ., how significant do you think that is? ., ~ i. how significant do you think that is? ., ~ . ., that is? thank you so much for havin: that is? thank you so much for having me- that is? thank you so much for having me. it s that is? thank you so much for having me. it s of that is? thank you so much for having me. it s of course - having me. it s of course significant, whenever brics comes together as a formation, they represent 40% of the global population. and a quarter of the world s gdp. brics now controls more of global gdp than g7 does. china is at the heart of that. this is at the heart of that. this is at the heart of that. this is a consequential moment for the brics coalition. intending to institutio
president xijinping coming down beijing, there we have, that is president xi jinping coming down the steps on the red carpet, and i suspect preparing to meet president lula who is also travelling with his wife. this is the state visit that kicked off on wednesday, so president lula expected any moment now i suspect. in the meantime, as we watch these events unfold from beijing, i am going to speak to. larissa wachholz is a senior fellow with the brazilian center for international relations. she is in beijing with the brazilian delegation and joins us now. thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us. how important is this visit for both countries? it is this visit for both countries? it is very important indeed, not only brazil has a new government that would like to show their priorities
and china, it is also interested in consolidating trade ties with brazil. beijing is facing growing tensions with the us which is its largest trading partner, and it s really looking to boost its country s presence in other markets. and brazil, of course, being latin america s largest economy, makes it an obvious choice. now, the other issue that you mentioned there of course, is ukraine. president lula and xijinping really want to become ameliators in this crisis. neither of them has joined western nations in imposing sanctions on russia and both are keen to really play a role there and have offered ideas on what they think is the best path towards peace. we are going to take you ll live to beijing, there we have, that is