Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s return to power could rejuvenate the relationship between Brazil and China and help to speed up the reform of the global order. So says Zhou Zhiwei, a researcher at the Latin America Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

China played an uncommonly prominent role in Brazil’s recent elections, with the candidates competing in their criticism of Chinese influence. Despite being left-wing, and a founding member of the BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa] group, Lula was unsparing: “We have the illusion that China is occupying Africa, that China is occupying Latin America,” he said. “No, it is occupying Brazil. It is dominating Brazil.”