Xi to attend China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue, BRICS summit in Johannesburg

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - China’s President Xi Jinping will attend the 15th BRICS summit and co-chair the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue in South Africa next week, Beijing said Friday.

Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said in a statement that Xi will pay a state visit to South Africa from Monday to Thursday.

The summit will be held in Johannesburg where South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa will host Xi, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Aug. 22 to 24.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing an international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, is not attending the meeting.

The BRICS currently comprises five countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and expansion of the group is expected to be high on the agenda.

Hua said Xi will also co-chair with Ramaphosa the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue in the South African capital. This would be Xi’s second trip out of China this year after he paid a state visit to Russia in March.