BEIJING/SHENZHEN: When the BRICS summit in Brazil opens this Sunday (Jul 6), a key figure will be conspicuously missing from the table: Chinese President Xi Jinping.
It is an unprecedented no-show that will be sorely felt, while at the same time raising questions about China’s diplomatic priorities and possibly blunting Beijing’s ability to advance its agenda at the summit, say analysts.
“Considering how important China is to BRICS, his decision not to come would have a negative impact on the summit – no question about that,” Oliver Stuenkel, associate professor at the School of International Relations at Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV), a leading Brazilian think tank, told CNA.
Observers point to domestic pressures as a likely reason for Xi’s absence – be it uncertainty over fraught trade talks with the United States, sluggish consumption, a protracted property crisis or the ongoing planning for China’s next development chapter.
The Xi no-show – alongside absences by Russian President Vladimir Putin and possibly other heads of state – is also expected to shift the spotlight to the remaining BRICS leaders, from long-time members like India to newer entrants such as Indonesia, they add.
Still, observers caution against reading too much into the optics.
“With expansion, (BRICS has) become a bit unwieldy. Finding agreement has become more difficult, but I don’t think (Xi’s absence) is a concerted effort by the Chinese to downgrade BRICS,” Stuenkel said.
GIVING BRICS AN UNPRECEDENTED MISS
Originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining soon after, BRICS has recently embarked on an ambitious expansion drive. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates came on board in 2024, followed by Indonesia earlier this year as the newest entrant.
Widely regarded as a growing diplomatic counterweight to traditional Western powers, the intergovernmental grouping has held an annual leaders’ summit since 2009. Since becoming China’s supremo in late 2012, Xi has attended all of them without fail.
Source: CNA
