Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS leaders’ meeting and visit South Africa on Aug. 21-24, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday (18/8).
Leaders from the five BRICS member states, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, meet in Johannesburg next week from August 22 to discuss how to transform the group of countries that account for a quarter of the global economy into a geopolitical force that can challenge Western dominance in a variety of ways. world issues.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant over war crimes in Ukraine, will attend the meeting via teleconference, not attending in person.
Membership expansion is also expected to be high on the agenda, as some 40 countries have shown interest in joining, either formally or informally, according to South Africa. Among those countries are Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt.
China, seeking to expand its geopolitical influence while at odds with the US, has stated it “welcomes like-minded partners to join the ‘BRICS family’ from the outset.” Russia also supports expansion, while Brazil opposes it, and India has yet to make a stand.
As well as attending the BRICS meeting, Xi will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders Dialogue with his counterpart, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, China’s Foreign Ministry said. (uh/ab)
