President Xi Jinping has arrived in South Africa, according to Chinese official media, where he will attend the BRICS conference in Johannesburg, according to BEIJING.
China’s Xi arrives in South Africa: Xi will make the state visit in 2023, following an official trip to Russia in March. Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Johannesburg on Monday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit and conduct a state visit to South Africa, according to the Xinhua news agency, which added that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had “warmly welcomed” him.
According to Xinhua, “Xi expressed his delight at returning to South Africa and conveyed his anticipation for candid discussions with Ramaphosa on deepening China-South Africa relations and matters of mutual interest.”
The leaders of Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Russia will meet this week from Tuesday through Thursday under the banner of “BRICS and Africa,” according to South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.
South Africa, a member of the ICC, will host this year’s BRICS summit, but Russian President Vladimir Putin, sought by the ICC for his involvement in the Ukraine war, won’t attend.
The Chinese president earlier travelled to South Africa in 2018 in an effort to strengthen diplomatic and commercial ties between his nation and the region.
The potential future extension of BRICS membership, which the group has previously said it is open to, will be on the summit’s agenda this year.
Algeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia are a few African nations that have previously stated a desire to join the union.
The conference has received invitations from 69 nations overall, including all African governments.
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa make up the loosely defined organisation known as BRICS, which sees itself as a challenge to Western economic dominance.
42 percent of the world’s population and 23% of the global gross domestic product are represented by this group.