Confrontation hangs in the air at BRICS summit after addresses by Putin, Xi

Source: Sydney Morning Herald | Original Published At: 2023-08-23 06:29:05 UTC

Key Points

• Xi Jinping's absence from the BRICS business forum and delivery of a combative speech via proxy
• Accusations of a hegemonic power undermining emerging markets
• Emphasis on China's economic resilience despite global concerns
• Tense geopolitical undertones during the BRICS summit

Johannesburg: President Xi Jinping failed to attend a meeting in South Africa where he was expected to deliver a speech defending China’s economy and its support for emerging markets, as fears mount that the Asian nation’s struggles could cause global turbulence.

According to a public schedule, the Chinese leader was set to address a BRICS business forum on Tuesday as part of the three-day summit between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Instead, delegates were greeted on stage by Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who read the speech without giving an explanation for his leader’s absence.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China’s President Xi Jinping, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pose during BRICS summit in Johannesburg, on August 22. Credit: Russian Foreign Ministry/Reuters

“The Chinese economy has strong resilience, tremendous potential and great vitality. The fundamentals sustaining China’s long-term growth will remain unchanged,” according to the remarks read by Wang. “The giant ship of the Chinese economy will continue to cleave waves and sail ahead.”

The speech also brought an air of confrontation to the Johannesburg summit that “some country, obsessed with maintaining its hegemony, has gone out of its way to cripple the emerging markets and developing countries”.