BRAZILIAN President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva was greeted with a 21-gun salute before meeting China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People today.

The full military honours contrasted with the informal reception given to France’s Emmanuel Macron at the start of the week and emphasised China and Brazil’s stress on “South-South co-operation” between developing countries as a means of challenging the domination of most global institutions by the United States.

Agreements were signed on trade and investment in fields including agriculture and aeronautics, and Mr Xi said the two countries were “comprehensive strategic partners.”