President Xi Jinping of China is scheduled to attend the upcoming BRICS leaders’ summit in South Africa during his state visit next week. President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa’s invitation prompted President Xi Jinping’s attendance at the 15th Summit in Johannesburg. Additionally, he will undertake a state visit to South Africa from August 21 to 24, as confirmed by Hua Chunying, the spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, through an online statement.
Xi Jinping is attending BRICS summit
Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit will mark his second international trip in 2023, following his journey to Russia in March. Notably, the Chinese president visited South Africa in 2018 to bolster China’s diplomatic and economic relations with Africa.
The summit will convene in Johannesburg next week and will assemble the five member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The primary objective of this gathering is to explore strategies for transforming this coalition of nations, collectively accounting for a significant quarter of the global economy, into a geopolitical entity capable of challenging the dominance of developed countries on the world stage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, currently facing an international arrest warrant due to allegations of war crimes in Ukraine, will not physically attend the summit. Instead, he will participate via video conferencing. Due to international legal concerns, Russia will have Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attend.
While the idea of a unified currency is not slated for discussion, organizers from South Africa have indicated that the New Development Bank of the bloc is interested in reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar. The upcoming summit will see the participation of notable leaders, including Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa; Xi Jinping of China; Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India; and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
During the summit, Cyril Ramaphosa will also host Xi Jinping on the sidelines for an official state visit. This event holds significance as China is South Africa’s largest trading partner.
BRICS is expanding
Sixty-nine nations have received invitations to the South African summit, encompassing all African countries. The topic of expansion is expected to feature prominently on the summit’s agenda. Several countries, including Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and Ethiopia, have expressed interest in formal or informal inclusion within the group.
China, aiming to amplify its geopolitical influence amidst its ongoing rivalry with the United States, has expressed its openness to welcoming additional partners who share similar perspectives into the ‘BRICS family’ shortly.
Russia also favors expansion, whereas Brazil has taken a more cautious stance due to concerns that it could diminish the group’s stature. On the other hand, India’s position on expansion remains undecided. The divergence between China and India on membership expansion will significantly influence the trajectory of aspiring countries and the organization’s overall future. South African officials have revealed that a total of twenty-two nations have submitted formal applications to join the BRICS group, while a comparable number have expressed their interest.
The first summit involving these countries took place in 2009 in Russia. The collective became known as BRICS when South Africa joined the following year. The member countries collectively account for over 40% of the global population. Regarding purchasing power parity, the combined economic activity of the nations now surpasses that of the G-7 countries at approximately 26%.
