With a trade war raging between Washington and Beijing, China's imports of US farm goods fell from $19.5 billion in 2017 to just over $9 billion last year, creating a shortfall between supply and demand for key products like soy. Brazil is already China's biggest source of soy imports, according to agriculture data provider Trase.
Brazilian and Chinese leaders emphasised continued cooperation between emerging economies in the face of protectionism worldwide. "The world is facing serious challenges from unilateralism and protectionism, putting pressure on major economies as uncertainty and instability are on the rise," Chinese vice premier Hu Chunhua said at a morning business forum attended by Bolsonaro, who also met with Premier Li Keqiang later in the day. "China and Brazil, as two major economies, should increase communication and cooperation to face these challenges and realize shared development," Hu said.