Late March will see Lula of Brazil visit China.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, will go to China at the end of the month, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Federative Republic of Brazil will visit China from March 26 to March 31 at the request of Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a statement from Hua Chunying, a spokesman for the foreign ministry.

Another ministry official, Wang Wenbin, said the visit will “usher in a new era and a new future for China-Brazil ties at the head-of-state level” while speaking at a routine briefing after the announcement.

The discussions, he added, will “advance the China-Brazil comprehensive strategic relationship to a new level, and make fresh contributions to the development of regional and global stability and prosperity”.

After four years under far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, Lula, who twice presided over Latin America’s biggest economy between 2003 and 2010, is exhibiting the first indications of wishing to end Brazil’s isolation on the world stage.

Lula’s trip to China will be his first since assuming office in January.

He proposed a new position for Brazil in the world by restarting “South American integration” and the restoration of “high and active engagement with the United States, the European Union, and China” in his inaugural address before Congress.

With $152.6 billion in bilateral commerce last year, China is Brazil’s leading trading partner. At $88.8 billion, the US comes in second place far behind.

In sharp contrast to Bolsonaro, Lula has declared a willingness to reestablish friendly relations with China.

An official said that Lula will want to visit China “after March” after his inauguration.

The invitation to the Brazilian president was confirmed by China’s foreign ministry at the time, but no date for his visit was given.