By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL-While China’s President Xi Jinping will preside over the three-day BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa – Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a no-show at the summit that takes place between August 21-24. The summit is significant because its aim is to broaden cooperation and ties on multiple levels between current BRICS nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It’s the first time since 2019 that BRICS leaders will be meeting face-to-face and going forward, leaders are planning to diversify ties into civil and government sectors. On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that after the summit, Xi will conduct a state visit throughout the country as well. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the press that Xi’s itinerary is packed with meetings and events. He said the summit is a major breakthrough in international relations. Xi is expected to collaborate with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, co-chairing the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue focusing on further developing dialogues and connections that have the potential to transform geopolitics in the region.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Putin will be conspicuously absent from the summit due to an international warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). That leaves Putin as the only BRICS leader who won’t be in attendance with speculation that he may appear via video link. There are numerous challenges facing BRICS leaders this year that include the war in Ukraine, political conflicts, increasing rivalry between China and India, climate disasters, food insecurity as well as defense security issues. Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is pushing for an expanded BRICS membership that could bring in 20 more countries that would include Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran, and Venezuela.
As analysts and observers of the African continent have highlighted, both China and Russia have long-term goals in Africa with a keen desire to spread their influence across the continent. In the last two decades, the presence of China and Russia in Africa has become increasingly significant on the economic front with both countries providing substantial funding for a variety of infrastructure projects across Africa. China exerts its influence through the Chinese-backed New Development Bank or the BRICS bank that provides financing for infrastructure projects in Brazil and numerous countries. BRICS is particularly crucial to China and Russia as rival influences to the West.
