How Trump’s tariff chaos is bringing China’s ‘trade circle of friends’ closer

There has been growing debate about whether US President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy will drive a wedge between China and other Global South nations. Analysts say the opposite is happening.

One example is China, facing duties of up to 245 per cent, and Brazil, where Trump’s global baseline 10 per cent tariff has been imposed.

The two nations have stepped up high-level engagement since the tariff chaos started.

On Tuesday, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi called for Brasilia and Beijing to oppose “the law of the jungle” together and said relations were at their “best period in history” during separate meetings in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and chief presidential adviser Celso Amorim.

Those meetings – on the sidelines of a Brics gathering – were held ahead of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s planned trip to China in May, and after Chinese officials travelled to Brazil for Brics agriculture talks and infrastructure projects in mid-April.

Analysts say the American president’s trade war is likely to help strengthen ties between China and Brazil – the largest developing economies in the eastern and western hemispheres, respectively. It could also drive further cooperation and give fresh impetus to joint efforts for greater clout in the global governance system.