President Xi to meet African counterparts during BRICS summit in South Africa

President Xi Jinping of China will meet African heads of state on the sidelines of the BRICS summit next week in South Africa.

The Chinese ambassador to South Africa said the purpose of the meeting is”to advance China-Africa cooperation in the new era.”

Chen Xiaodong said the meeting will take place late on Thursday, the last day of the three-day summit, according to Reuters.

He added that President Xi and African leaders will draw up a blueprint for cooperation to create jobs and improve livelihoods in Africa.

The Chinese leader will pay a state visit to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria on Tuesday before traveling to Johannesburg for the summit, his seventh trip to South Africa since taking office in 2013.

China’s meetings with African leaders will follow last month’s Russia-Africa conference in St Petersburg, when Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the 17 African heads of state who attended out of the 54 African countries invited.

It is unclear how many heads of state would attend the BRICS summit on August 22-24, but South African officials indicated more than 70 had been invited to participate.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to attend.

Vladimir Putin will take part in the summit virtually and will be represented in Johannesburg by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.