Dhaka, Oct. 5 -- Flavio Bolsonaro's surprise first-round lead has turned Brazil's presidential runoff into something much bigger than a domestic contest between right and left.

Bolsonaro took about 47 percent of the vote on Sunday, ahead of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on 45 percent, sending Latin America's largest economy to an Oct 25 runoff.

But outside Brazil, the contest is also being followed as a potentially consequential choice over the country's place between Washington and Beijing.

Bolsonaro has cultivated close ties with US President Donald Trump and called for stronger ties with Washington, including long-term cooperation over Brazil's vast reserves of rare earths and other critical minerals.

Lula has followed a mark...