China and Brazil on Tuesday signed 20 cooperation documents during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's state visit to China.

He also held talks with President Xi Jinping.

In a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the two leaders witnessed the signing of cooperation documents covering the fields of development strategy alignment, science and technology, agriculture, digital economy, finance, inspection and quarantine, and media.

The two countries also issued a joint statement on the Ukraine crisis.

According to the statement, China and Brazil welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to start peace talks and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's positive response.

It added that Beijing and Brasilia hope Russia and Ukraine will start direct dialogue as soon as possible, which is the only way to end the conflict.

Lula on Tuesday also met other state leaders such as Premier Li Qiang and National People's Congress Standing Committee chairman Zhao Leji.

Zhao said Beijing is willing to strengthen strategic collaboration with Brazil. (Reporting by Xinhua)