President Lula presents the project that, with an investment of 38 billion, will house the supercomputers in Fortaleza

Lula's agenda over the past 36 hours clearly illustrates the diplomatic effort to maintain Brazil's international relevance and remain true to its tradition of defending multilateralism. And to avoid at all costs being drawn into the growing hostility between the two superpowers , the United States and China, which are also, respectively, its second and first largest trading partners.

The leftist president welcomed this investment from the Chinese technology company the day after speaking by phone with Donald Trump for the fourth time since the US president and he met in person in September at the UN. Since that initial greeting, they have held one in-person meeting and two phone calls. Lula believes there is “good chemistry.” The Brazilian president thanked his counterpart for the tariff relief and urged him to eliminate them.

TikTok's data center in Brazil will be powered by wind energy from wind farms that are also under construction, according to the company. The company explains that it will use a closed-loop water cooling system for the supercomputers and will not draw power from the electrical grid, "avoiding impacts on the local supply" and "reinforcing its commitment to the energy transformation and decarbonization of the global economy."

The Lula administration is campaigning to attract Brazil's growing data center business , driven by the exponential increase in cloud hosting needs caused by artificial intelligence. This investment by TikTok bolsters that effort, which leverages the country's extensive clean energy resources as a key selling point.

The data center project has been accompanied by controversy due to complaints from the Anacé indigenous people, who believe the facilities will be located on their traditional lands and that they should have been formally consulted. Both TikTok and its local partners maintain that they comply with regulations.

In keeping with this effort to strike a delicate balance between Beijing and Washington, another of President Lula's key events on Wednesday was the inauguration of General Motors' electric car production in Brazil. Meanwhile, the number of cars and dealerships for the Chinese brand BYD is multiplying on the country's streets. The Brazilian left-wing leader, who governs with a broad coalition, has confirmed his intention to run for reelection in 2026.

Naiara Galarraga Gortázar , El Pais Spain