At the invitation of the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping will participate in the 15th BRICS Summit scheduled to take place in Johannesburg from August 21 to 24, 2023.
While Vladimir Putin has declined to attend the BRICS summit in South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping will be traveling to South Africa next week where he will undertake a state visit and participate in the BRICS summit. “At the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, President Xi Jinping will participate in the 15th BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg […] and will make a state visit to South Africa from August 21 to 24,” said Hua Chunying, a spokesperson from the Ministry, in an online statement.
The summit is set to be held in Johannesburg, where South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will host Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from August 22 to 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is subject to an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will not be traveling to South Africa.
The BRICS currently consist of five countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – and expanding the group is expected to be high on the agenda for the meeting. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson also mentioned that Xi Jinping will co-chair the China-Africa leaders’ dialogue with Ramaphosa in the South African capital. For the Chinese President, this marks his second overseas trip this year, following a state visit to Russia in March.
