BEIJING/BRASILIA (Reuters) - China and Brazil pledged on Tuesday to defend free trade and multilateralism as the two countries signed 20 agreements in Beijing to strengthen their ties amid global trade uncertainties.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has taken aim at “bullying” and “hegemonism,” in his first public remarks since a temporary truce over tariffs was agreed in the trade war between the United States and China.

While a plan to create a faster Pacific Ocean route for Brazil-China trade has been under consideration since 2014, it was originally intended to move via Chile. The development of the Chancay Port and other infrastructure in the past few years has opened the door to the new route via Peru.

A day after China and the U.S. agreed to a 90-day truce in their tariffs stalemate, China is moving to strengthen its alliances as a counterweight to President Donald Trump's trade war.

President Xi Jinping vowed on Tuesday to boost China's footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean with a new $9 billion credit line and fresh infrastructure investment, although Brazil warned the region not to become too reliant on foreign funding.

The trade war has heightened China’s need to develop gateways to import the continent’s soybeans, corn and other foodstuffs that are the only viable alternative supply to U.S. exports.

When Lucas Silva Ferreira needed a new air conditioner to cool his Rio de Janeiro home in the sweltering February heat, he decided to go with a Chinese model instead of old standbys like LG or Whirlpool.

Brazil's central bank said Monday it will sign a currency swap agreement with the People's Bank of China, with a maximum outstanding value of 157 billion reais ($27.69 billion) and a five-year term. The agreement,