Lula da Silva canceled his trip to China due to pneumonia

The Brazilian president had already postponed his departure for Beijing for one day, but on a recommendation he decided to suspend the tour.

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, decided this Saturday to definitively suspend his trip to China until he recovers from pneumonia.

“On medical recommendation, President Lula decided to postpone his trip to China. The postponement has already been communicated to the Chinese authorities with the reiteration of the desire to schedule the visit on a new date,” the government reported in a statement.

As reported, the Brazilian president was diagnosed with “bacterial and viral bronchial pneumonia due to influenza A.”

Lula, 77, had already anticipated on Friday that he would postpone his trip to the Asian giant for one day, originally scheduled for this Saturday, due to “mild pneumonia.”

The Brazilian president went to the hospital on Thursday “with flu symptoms” after an intense schedule that took him this week to the states of Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro.

After a clinical evaluation, he was diagnosed with “bacterial and viral bronchial pneumonia due to influenza A” and began treatment with antibiotics.

At first the trip to China was maintained, but after a “reassessment” carried out this Saturday and despite presenting a “clinical improvement”, the medical service of the Presidency recommended postponing it “until the end of the cycle of viral transmission”.

The head of state intended to travel to China, Brazil’s largest trading partner since 2009, with several of his ministers and a record delegation of 240 businessmen and nearly fifty congressmen.

The state visit included events in Beijing and Shanghai.

Among the events planned was a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and an economic forum with between 400 and 500 businessmen from both countries.

In the meeting with Xi, the signing of some 20 agreements in the commercial area, phytosanitary protocols, technology, development, energy transition and other areas of collaboration within the framework of the bilateral strategic association was scheduled.

On his return to Brazil, Lula had scheduled a stopover in the United Arab Emirates for March 31, where he would hold meetings with local authorities, but everything indicates that it was also canceled before the health staff of the Brazilian ruler.

With information from EFE