Just when China has had enough problems for most countries to handle, Brazil is sounding like another one. A Reuters story has Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's leading Presidential candidate as saying China, its largest trading partner, looks to dominate certain sectors of the economy. He has said the Chinese are not buying into Brazil with all this money - they are trying to buy Brazil. I feel his pain. Trading is supposed to benefit both sides and not result in domination of one over the other, by his account. He must be new to dealing with the Chinese, but is catching on fast.
To make matters worse, the new politico has decided to favor Taiwan's claim to independence. This is sacrilege to the Chinese, who must be looking for ways to influence this new guy before he gets into office. They are working on people around him and have invited some of them to China to show them a good time. Trade is the usual way of getting influence, but trade is already up because of the trade problems between China and the US. Soybeans for China is one aspect of it. That won't be enough to stop a person who is a nationalist first and is probably saying "Brazil first" on his trade discussions. Sound familiar?
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