2023-08-23 04:47:42
BRICS Summit in South Africa
China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping was surprisingly absent from an economic forum with his counterparts from Brazil, South Africa and India. He was represented by Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao (right).
(Photo: dpa)
Beijing When China’s Trade Minister Wang Wentao stepped in front of the microphone at the BRICS economic summit on Tuesday evening in place of head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, there was great astonishment. Xi’s surprising absence sparked speculation given the importance Chinese leaders attach to the BRICS group in promoting a new world order without Western dominance.
Contrary to what had been announced, Xi did not appear at the forum where he was supposed to speak alongside the leaders of Brazil, India and South Africa. Instead, Commerce Minister Wang read the speech. Without naming the US, it said one country was “obsessed with maintaining its hegemony and has been doing everything it can to slow down emerging and developing economies.”
At the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, the heads of state of the member countries Brazil, China, India and South Africa, as well as representatives from Russia, will meet until Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending in person due to an international arrest warrant.
China wants to establish the group as a counterpoint to Western forums such as the G7 and is therefore pushing for the admission of new members. Today’s Wednesday is considered the most important day of the meeting, where a possible expansion of the group will be discussed. In addition, the BRICS countries want to cooperate more closely in the financial sector and become less dependent on the dollar.
Xi’s surprising absence after all the preliminary work with India is truly remarkable, wrote Jorge Guajardo, former Mexican ambassador to China, on Twitter. Brian Hart of the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) commented on the behavior as “very strange”. “Is something wrong?” asked Bonnie Glaser of the US think tank German Marshall Fund and many other observers.
A later heads of state dinner was reportedly attended by Xi. Shortly before his originally planned appearance at the Economic Forum, he met and had lunch with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Official Chinese statements made no mention of Xi’s absence. There it was said that the head of state had given a speech. In addition, pictures of the economic forum were shown, but no details could be seen on them.
Xi meets Ramaphosa
Shortly before the economic summit, China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping was received by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
(Photo: dpa)
In the speech, which was also circulated by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Xi also emphasized “the strong resilience, tremendous potential and tremendous strength” of the world’s second largest economy.
Recently, a lot of bad news had raised global concerns about the state of the Chinese economy. The lecture, read by Wang, said, “The giant ship of China’s economy will continue to make waves and sail forward.” The conditions for China’s long-term economic growth remained “unchanged.”
>> Read also: Concerns about China’s economy – Where the crisis is coming from, what it means for the world
Despite the end of the corona restrictions in China, Xi rarely travels abroad. Most recently, he accepted an invitation from Putin to Moscow in March. Here, too, the focus was on creating an alternative world order. Xi’s attendance at the BRICS summit therefore underscores the importance of the group to his agenda. His absence from the economic forum is all the more surprising.
More than 20 countries want to join BRICS
The Chinese government is actively courting partners in the so-called Global South. With success: In addition to the representatives of the previous BRICS members, more than 30 heads of state and government as well as heads of global organizations, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, are taking part in the summit in Johannesburg. It is considered the largest gathering of countries from the Global South from Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East.
More than 20 states are said to have officially applied to join the BRICS group. Saudi Arabia is the most interesting candidate for accession. If the major oil-supplying country accepts payments in currencies other than the dollar on a large scale in the future, this could support the group’s plan to become less dependent on the US currency.
>> Read also: BRICS in Grafiken – Can the alliance catch up with the G7 countries?
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meanwhile emphasized on Twitter: “The BRICS are not opposed to the G7, the G20 or anyone else”. It is simply a matter of “organizing as the global South” in order to be heard in the global debate and to sit “equally at the negotiating table with the European Union and the United States”.
Many emerging and developing countries criticize the fact that international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are still dominated by a few western industrialized countries.
More: How the BRICS countries are gaining influence worldwide
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