Xi to Attend BRICS Summit in Russia, Focus on Global South

Beijing, Oct 18 (PTI) China on Friday announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend next week's BRICS Summit in Russia during which he will work with other parties to open a new era for the Global South to seek strength through solidarity.

However, there is no clarity as yet about Xi meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will also be attending the Summit, the first one after the expansion of BRICS being held with Russia as the chair.

Xi will attend the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia from October 22 to 24 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a brief announcement here.

BRICS, originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, now has five more countries. The theme of this year's Summit is “Strengthening Multilaterism for Just Global Development and Security.”

Later, elaborating on Xi's participation at the regular media briefing, another spokesperson of the Ministry Mao Ning said during the summit Xi will attend the events including small-group and large-group talks and BRICS Plus Dialogue and deliver important addresses.

“He will also have in-depth exchanges with other leaders on the international landscape, the BRICS practical cooperation, the development of BRICS mechanism and important issues of mutual interest,” she said.

"China stands ready to work with other parties to strive for the steady and sustained development of greater BRICS cooperation, open a new era for the Global South to seek strength through solidarity and jointly promote world peace and development," she said.

However, Beijing is so far silent about the speculation about the likelihood of Xi's meeting with Modi.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement in New Delhi said that during his visit, Prime Minister Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries but did not provide any details.

Relations between India and China were frozen after the Chinese military moved a large number of troops to the LAC at Eastern Ladakh in May 2020.

Since then the two countries held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks and have worked out disengagement in four friction areas, including Galwan Valley, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

India is pressing the Chinese military to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas, maintaining that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the state of the borders remains abnormal.

Speaking about the Kazan BRICS summit, Mao said, this year marks the beginning of greater BRICS cooperation.

“This summit is the first one after the expansion of BRICS, which draws widespread attention from the international community,” she said.

BRICS, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has expanded its membership with the inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Mao said since its founding, BRICS has followed the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation and remained true to its founding purpose of seeking strength through solidarity.

The bloc stayed committed to upholding multilateralism and become a positive and stable force for good in international affairs, she said.