Lula drew Brazil closer to China and traveled twice to Beijing during his two presidential terms from 2003 to 2010, and he is seeking to reset ties after four years of turmoil under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
Lula will meet with Xi Jinping on March 28 in Beijing, the first foreign leader to visit the Chinese leader since he secured a precedent-breaking third term as president. That made him a key conciliatory voice on China in the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro, whose ideological base cheered his diplomatic spats with Beijing.
This visit comes after a period of rocky relations under Bolsonaro, who campaigned for office using anti-China rhetoric that continued into his first years in government, when his lawmaker son blamed China for the COVID-19 pandemic.