China Supports India To Host 2021’s BRICS Summit, Says Will Work With India To Expand Cooperation

Amid disengagement along the India - China border after experiencing the worst crisis in several decades, China on Monday (22 February) said it supports India hosting this year’s BRICS summit, reports Hindustan Times.

India had taken over the chairmanship of the BRICS summit for 2021 from Russia which hosted the 12th BRICS summit online in 2020 due to COVID19 pandemic.

“We support India in hosting this year’s meeting. We will work with it and other members to strengthen communication and dialogue and consolidate the three-pillar cooperation, expand BRICS plus cooperation and work for greater progress under BRICS,” said the foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

“China attaches importance to this (BRICS) mechanism, and we are committed to deepening strategic partnership within it to consolidate solidarity and cooperation,” Wang added.

However, he did not respond to the question on whether President Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS summit in India.

BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

BRICS does not exist in the form of organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations. The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members.

Together, BRICS accounts for about 40 per cent of the world’s population and almost 30 per cent of the GDP, making it an important economic engine for the world economy.