BEIJING: China and Brazil should deepen practical cooperation, and tap potential to work together in sectors including agriculture, energy, and infrastructure construction, Chinese President Xi Jinping was quoted as saying by state media on Friday.

In a meeting with visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Beijing, Xi said China has made relations with Brazil a diplomatic priority, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The two leaders also discussed the Ukraine crisis, and agreed that dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way out of the crisis, CCTV said.

Brazil’s Lula puts Ukraine peace on his agenda in China

Lula arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday on an official visit to China.

“We have an extraordinary relationship with China, a relationship that every day gets more acute and stronger,” the Brazilian president said before his meeting with Xi.

Brazil and China need to work together so that the relationship is not merely of commercial interest, he added.