Beijing, Aug 22 China sincerely welcomes everyone wishing to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his address to the participants of the BRICS business forum, which was read out on Tuesday by Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.
“Today, the BRICS countries and more than 50 countries have gathered in South Africa not to choose sides or participate in a bloc confrontation, but to create a large-scale structure for peaceful development. I am glad to see that more than 20 countries are already knocking on the door BRICS China sincerely welcomes all who wish to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism,» Xi Jinping said.
The BRICS summit is being held in Johannesburg on August 22-24, where the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa are present, Russia is represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would participate in the summit via videoconference.
BRICS unites Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but recently at least 19 states have expressed their desire to join the economic bloc, including Argentina, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt.
August 21, 10:00 BRICS infographic: participants, history and weight in the global economyView