Brazil's Lula da Silva Slams Dependency on Dollar During Visit to China

Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who is on an official visit to China now, has lashed out at the role of the dollar in international trade, pointing to the fact that nations could use their own currencies instead.

"Why should every country have to be tied to the dollar for trade?... Who decided the dollar would be the (world's) currency?" Lula da Silva said."Why can't a bank like the BRICS bank have a currency to finance trade between Brazil and China, between Brazil and other BRICS countries?... Today, countries have to chase after dollars to export, when they could be exporting in their own currencies."

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Lula also spoke out against the International Monetary Fund, hinting at accusations that the IMF is forcing excessive spending cuts in cash-strapped countries, such as Brazil's neighbor Argentina, in exchange for bailout loans.

"No bank should be asphyxiating countries' economies the way the IMF is doing now with Argentina, or the way they did with Brazil for a long time and every third-world country," Brazil's leader said.

During his stay in China, the Brazil's president has also praised BRICS' bank for its leading role in achieving a better world.

"The New Development Bank is the product of a partnership among BRICS countries with a view to creating a world with less poverty, less inequality and more sustainability," Brazil's President said.

Earlier, China and Brazil have signed an agreement to settle payments in yuan, which would provide for the settlements without using the US dollar, as well as lending in national currencies to facilitate and reduce the cost of transactions and get rid of dollar dependence in the bilateral relations.