South African officials have verified that Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to conduct a state visit to South Africa in the coming week. During this time, he will also participate in the Brics summit, which is to be hosted in the same country.
The acronym “Brics” represents the nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. For some, this grouping is seen as a potential alternative to the G7, a collection of developed countries.
This upcoming journey will mark President Xi’s second international excursion this year, following his official state visit to Russia in March.
These developments coincide with an imminent meeting of Brics leaders, where one of the agenda items will involve discussions on potentially expanding the group’s membership. Various African countries, including Algeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia, have previously expressed their desire to become part of this bloc.
Initially, uncertainty surrounded the participation of Russia’s president in the summit. Subsequently, South Africa’s presidency clarified that he would not be in attendance.
It’s worth noting that there were concerns about the implications if Russia’s president had left the confines of his country. Specifically, he would have been susceptible to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to matters related to the conflict in Ukraine.
Given South Africa’s status as an ICC signatory, the country would have been obligated to assist in executing the arrest had he set foot on South African soil.