China slams US trade official for warning Brazil about joining belt and road plan
After US Trade Representative Katherine Tai suggests Brasilia ‘weigh the risks’, Chinese embassy calls her remarks ‘disrespectful’
The Chinese embassy in Brazil criticised US Trade Representative Katherine Tai after she recommended Brasilia “weigh the risks” before joining the Belt and Road Initiative.
Speaking on Wednesday in Sao Paulo, Tai urged Brazilian officials to evaluate the risks of joining China’s plan to grow global trade.
Brazil “should really think about what the best pathway forward is for more resilience in the Brazilian economy”, Tai said, encouraging an “objective lens” and “risk management” in assessing the trade partnership.
The Chinese embassy in Brasilia fired back on Friday, calling Tai’s comments “irresponsible” and “disrespectful” and saying Brazil’s sovereignty in choosing its trading partners “should be respected”.
“How could China, as Brazil’s largest trading partner, largest export market and main source of surplus, represent a risk and not an opportunity? This view contradicts the facts and basic logic.”
Brasilia, the statement added, did not need “others to dictate who to cooperate with or what kind of partnerships to conduct”.
Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro also defended Brazil’s interest in the belt and road plan, saying it could help “combat trade barriers” with Western partners.
