China confirms Xi will attend BRICS summit in South Africa followed by state visit

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that President Xi Jinping will attend next week’s summit of the BRICS nations in Johannesburg, to be followed by a state visit to South Africa. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said that during the visit, Xi will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa. China is a core member of the BRICS nations, which also include Brazil, Russia and India. The grouping was founded to link the interests of the world’s leading emerging economies but has sought to expand into other civil and governmental fields. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend in person because of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for him.