China backs BRICS meet in India, President Xi likely to attend

New Delhi, Feb 23: China on Monday backed the BRICS summit to be hosted by India this year. Beijing added that it is willing to work with India and other member states to strengthen cooperation in various fields.

Chinese President, Xi Jinping is likely to attend the summit to be held in the second half of this year, if the COVID-19 situation improves.

The Chinese foreign ministry said that Beijing attaches great importance to the Brics cooperation mechanism and has always been committed to deepening the Brics strategic partnership and consolidating the positive momentum of Brics solidarity and cooperation.

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The foreign ministry also said that China supports India's hosting of this year's Brics conference, and is willing to work with India and other Brics countries to continue to strengthen communication and cooperation in various fields, consolidate the "three-wheel drive" cooperation framework of economics, politics, and humanities.

The comments were made by foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin to a question whether the border standoff would affect the BRICS summit.

In 2021, India had assumed chairmanship of the BRICS. On February 21, External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar launched the BRICS 2021 website. The backing of summit by China comes in the backdrop of the troop disengagement in the Pangong area following multiple rounds of talks by the military commanders of both sides.