Brics summit: African countries wait in the wings for expansion of economic bloc as China goes on post-Covid charm offensive

Potential new members and greater use of local currencies for trade are expected to be the top agenda items discussed at the summit in South Africa

African nations want to see how the group can give them a bigger voice on the world stage, analysts say

Reading Time:4 minutes

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will welcome China’s President Xi Jinping as well as other leaders at the Brics summit on August 22. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00am, 19 Aug 2023Updated: 2:36pm, 19 Aug 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to South Africa for the Brics summit next week will be a stage for Beijing to promote its post-Covid charm offensive, including agenda items like membership expansion and de-dollarisation.

While the Johannesburg summit is not expected to yield any concrete results, it will be watched closely by developing countries looking to the Brics group – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – as a major counterweight to Western influence in global governance.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, as Brics chairman for 2023, will also host Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the summit. Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with President Vladimir Putin to participate virtually.

In addition, Xi and Ramaphosa will hold talks to strengthen ties and will witness the signing of various agreements, according to the South African president’s office.

On August 10, ahead of Xi’s visit, Chinese companies signed 20 deals to buy products worth US$2.2 billion from South Africa. South African Trade Minister Ebrahim Patel and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao witnessed the signing at a meeting of a joint economic and trade committee aimed at boosting South African manufacturing exports to China. Anglo American Platinum, Glencore, Sappi and Pioneer Fishing were among South African companies involved in the agreements.