BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend next week’s summit of the BRICS nations in Johannesburg, to be followed by a state visit to South Africa, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying also said in a statement that during his Aug. 21-24 visit to South Africa, Xi will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders´ Dialogue with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, AP reported.
China is a core member of the BRICS nations, which also include Brazil, Russia and India.
The grouping was predicated on linking the interests of the world´s leading emerging economies but has sought to expand into other civil and governmental fields.
The BRICS summit is the first to be held in person since 2019 and comes as the bloc seeks new relevance amidst Russia’s war in Ukraine, South Africa’s crashing economy and sharpening competition between Asian giants China and India.
