Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke by phone Friday to emphasize the "central role" of the United Nations in the international system, positioning their countries as defenders of multilateralism just days after Washington withdrew from the World Health Organization.
According to Radio France Internationale, Xi told Lula that countries "must stay on the right side of history," and that China and Brazil have a critical role in "maintaining global peace and stability."
The call comes at a moment when the United States is actively dismantling its participation in international institutions. President Donald Trump officially withdrew from the WHO this week, citing what he called corruption and Chinese influence - creating an opening that Beijing is now filling with partners like Brazil.
This is Brazil operating as a global power, not a regional one. Lula is positioning Brasília as a counterweight to Western unilateralism, leveraging the BRICS alliance and strategic partnerships to defend a rules-based international order that the United States appears to be abandoning.
China's state news agency Xinhua reported that both leaders emphasized their commitment to strengthening the UN's role and expanding cooperation between their nations on global challenges. The timing is deliberate - this is a statement call designed to fill the vacuum Washington is creating.
Brazil and China have deepened their strategic partnership significantly in recent years, with Beijing becoming Brazil's largest trading partner. The relationship extends beyond economics to include infrastructure investment, technology cooperation, and now, explicitly, shared governance of the international system.
For Latin America, this represents a fundamental shift. For decades, the region existed in Washington's gravitational pull - "America's backyard," in the patronizing phrase still used by some U.S. officials. Now, as the United States retreats from multilateral institutions, China is offering an alternative vision where Latin American countries have agency and partnership rather than subordination.
The Brazil-China axis on multilateralism creates space for the entire region to pursue more independent foreign policies. When the largest economy in South America coordinates with Beijing to defend the UN system, it sends a message: nuestra América is writing its own diplomatic playbook.
The conversation also underscores how Trump's isolationist policies are reshaping global alliances. By withdrawing from international institutions, Washington is ceding influence to countries eager to step into leadership roles.
Lula has long championed multilateralism and South-South cooperation. His government sees Brazil as a bridge between the Global South and traditional powers, a role that becomes more important as the United States turns inward.
Twenty countries, 650 million people - and the largest among us is now leading the charge to defend the international order. Somos nuestra propia historia, and we're making it clear we won't let others write it for us.
