Chinese President Xi Jinping to host virtual BRICS summit

The Chinese leader will hold online talks with the leaders of Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa later this month

The event takes place in the shadow of Russia’s war in Ukraine and Moscow is keen to develop links with other emerging economies after being hit by sanctions

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Chinese President Xi Jinping pictured a last year’s virtual BRICS summit. Photo: AP

Published: 7:04pm, 17 Jun 2022

Beijing will host a virtual annual summit for the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – on June 23.

President Xi Jinping will chair the summit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Friday.

The event will be preceded and followed by two other virtual meetings to foster economic ties between the countries. The follow-up event on June 24 aims to build sustainable economic relations between the BRICS countries as well as other emerging economies.

While Russia has been facing immense pressure such as economic sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, the BRICS nations – except Brazil – have abstained from several United Nations votes condemning Russia.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro highlighted the country’s neutrality, while Brazil’s ambassador to the UN voted in favour of condemning Russia’s invasion.

On Wednesday, Xi had a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during which he reaffirmed his support for Russia on issues of sovereignty and security.

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