Alckmin says Brazil needs to “be friends” with China and the USA

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) defended this Monday (17.Aug.2026) that Brazil maintain balanced relations with China and the United States, without taking sides in the dispute between the two powers. The statement was made during Santander’s 27th Annual Conference, in São Paulo.

For Alckmin, the 2 countries have distinct and complementary roles in the Brazilian economy. China occupies the position of the country’s main trading partner, while the USA is the largest foreign investor in Brazil, according to the vice president.

The vice-president summarized the Brazilian position in one sentence. “We have to be friends with both of us, this is the good way”said Alckmin. “Brazil has to defend its interests, not fight with either of them”he stated.

Alckmin assessed that the international order has undergone profound transformations over the last few decades. According to him, the North American predominance after the “dissolution” of the Soviet Union paved the way for a dispute between great powers.

“Back then it was a bipolar world, the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union dissolved. Some said: ‘It’s going to be a unipolar world, American preponderance’. We always believed in a multipolar world. Mercosur, ASEAN, European Union, FTAA, in short, it became bipolar again”declared the vice president.

When detailing the relevance of the USA for the Brazilian economy, Alckmin cited the presence of around 4,000 North American companies in Brazil. The country exports planes, cars, machines and engines, as well as commodities, to the Americans, according to him.

The strategy that Alckmin defended for Brazil combines maintaining trade relations with the two powers and expanding market opening. In this context, the vice president once again criticized the tariffs imposed by the USA on Brazil. He classified the measures as “unfair” e “unreasonable” and said he believed in the possibility of a trade agreement between the 2 countries.

Alckmin also stated that Brazil will maintain negotiations with the United States to try to reverse the tariffs imposed on the country. “Brazil is not leaving the negotiating table. Let’s have a little patience, and things will move forward and go well.”

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