– ditching the dollar as an intermediary – is in China to boost ties with his country's top trading partner and spread his message that "Brazil is back" as a key player on the global stage. Lula also met the head of China's biggest electric carmaker, BYD, which said in October that it planned to set up a vehicle manufacturing plant in northern Brazil's Bahia after Ford Motors closed its factory there. Lula, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, is seeking to smooth relations with China, after ties deteriorated under Bolsonaro