Brazilian President Lula da Silva has revealed his willingness to cooperate with China with a view to balancing world geopolitics. The partnership has the potential to consolidate the relationship between developing countries on a global scale.

According to the Brazilian head of state, who met this Friday with the president of China's National People's Assembly, Zhao Leji, the idea is to work with Beijing to "balance world geopolitics" and "expand trade".

"We want to raise the level of the strategic partnership between our countries, expand trade flows and, together with China, balance world geopolitics," said the Brazilian head of state, who ended a two-day visit to China on Friday.

Brazil was the first country to recognize China as a market economy. Quoted by Lusa, Lula said that the partnership between Brasilia and Beijing "has the potential to consolidate a new relationship between developing countries in the global arena".

The meeting took place in the Great Palace of the People, next to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. The National People's Assembly is China's highest legislative body.

During Lula da Silva's first two terms in office, between 2003 and 2011, the commercial and political relationship between Brazil and China intensified, marked in particular by the formation of the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, which also includes Russia, India and South Africa.

The group met for the first time in 2009 - at the time still without South Africa - in the wake of the global financial crisis, and soon established an agenda focused on reforming the international order, aiming for a greater role for emerging countries in organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF).