Bolsonaro Says He Would Work With US, China as Brazil’s President

Flávio Bolsonaro said he would work with the US and China if he becomes Brazil’s president, after a surprise election performance left him poised to join a wave of conservative leaders pushing Latin America closer to Washington.

“I’m not going to pick sides,” Bolsonaro said at an event in Brasilia on Thursday. “My side will be the Brazilian people, whether we’re dealing with China, Israel, the Middle East, Argentina or India. It doesn’t matter. That’s how I’m going to govern.”

Bolsonaro finished ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round of Brazil’s election on Sunday, positioning him as the frontrunner ahead of a runoff set for Oct. 25.

Victory for Bolsonaro would complete a conservative sweep of South America’s major economies for right-wing allies of President Donald Trump, who has sought to reassert US influence over a Western Hemisphere that has moved increasingly closer to China.

Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has pledged to work closely with the Trump administration on trade and crime while outlining plans to join the US-led Shield of the Americas security initiative. He visited Trump at the White House in May.

But as president, he would assume control of an economy that is heavily dependent on China. The Asian nation is by far Brazil’s largest trading partner and the chief buyer of agricultural exports that form the backbone of Latin America’s largest economy.

Chinese companies have also poured money into Brazil’s energy, electric vehicles and manufacturing industries, and large amounts of China-produced consumer goods enter the country every day.

Lula has deepened Brazil’s ties to Beijing while also pushing to diversify its trade relationships with other parts of the world. He’s had a hot-and-cold relationship with Trump since the US placed tariffs on many Brazilian goods last year as part of an unsuccessful effort to help Jair Bolsonaro avoid conviction on coup attempt charges.