BEIJING: President Xi Jinping’s recent state visit to South Africa and his attendance at the 15th BRICS Summit are proof of the noticeable and fresh progress made by emerging markets and developing economies toward building a fairer and just global governance system, senior officials and experts said.
Xi had a packed yet productive diplomatic schedule from Tuesday to Thursday in South Africa as he attended and addressed a slew of wide-ranging multilateral meetings and held bilateral talks.
In addition to his state visit to South Africa in its administrative capital, Pretoria, and attending the annual gathering of BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in Johannesburg, Xi also co-chaired the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Hailing the trip as “bearing strategic significance”, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the tour highlights China’s consistent approach to embracing Africa and the whole world, carries forward the traditional China-Africa friendship, consolidates fresh consensus for South-South cooperation, and injects positivity into the pursuit of peace and development.
“The expansion of membership means BRICS is now embarking on a new journey. The China-Africa community with a shared future enjoys new connotations, and the strategic mutual trust between China and South Africa is reaching new heights,” he added.
The visit is “another successful practice of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Diplomacy” and demonstrates China’s global vision, Wang told reporters at the conclusion of the trip.
Currently, the 17-year-old BRICS represents more than 40 percent of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s economic output, and this years’ BRICS events engaged leaders from more than 60 countries.
Wang noted that last year, with the push from China — the rotating president of BRICS — the grouping launched its expansion process, “ushering in a major development opportunity for the BRICS mechanism”.
During the South Africa trip, President Xi attended BRICS events and made several important speeches, “continuing to promote and lead the momentum of BRICS development”, Wang added. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
