Weekly Report - 18 May 2004

Lula has weightier things to worry about than a New York Times article. His 23 May trip to China, which he has been portraying as a big effort to promote integration between that country and Latin America, has been preceded by a big snafu that will undoubtedly affect Chinese perceptions. On 12 May the Chinese government announced that it was suspending imports of soya from a number of Brazilian firms, after a big shipment was found to contain potentially hazardous chemicals.