BEIJING BACKS INDIA’S ROLE AS HOST OF 2021 BRICS SUMMIT
China on Monday said it supports India’s chairmanship of the five-member Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) for 2021, and will work with New Delhi to strengthen the bloc.
India assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Brics forum on January 1, 2021, taking over from Russia, which hosted the last summit in November 2020. India taking over the Brics leadership, for the third time since the group was formed, comes at a sensitive time when New Delhi’s ties with Beijing are facing their worst challenge in decades – it’s only after nine months and several rounds of negotiations that border troops have disengaged from Pangong lake.
The Chinese foreign ministry on Monday tried to allay apprehension that the India-china border dispute will impact Brics. “We support India in hosting this year’s meeting. We will work with it and other members to strengthen communication and dialogue,” Wang Wenbin, foreign ministry spokesperson, said.
China on Monday said it supports India’s chairmanship of the five-member Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) for 2021, and will work with New Delhi to strengthen the bloc.
India assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Brics forum on January 1, 2021, taking over from Russia, which hosted the last summit as an online event in November 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
India taking over Brics leadership, for the third time since the group was formed, comes at a sensitive time when New Delhi’s ties with Beijing are facing their worst challenge in decades – it’s only after nine months and several rounds of negotiations that border troops have disengaged from the south and north banks of Pangong lake.
India will host the Brics summit this year, and the question is how much will the chill in Sinoindia ties impact the functioning of the bloc.
The Chinese foreign ministry on Monday tried to allay that apprehension when asked whether the India-china border dispute will impact Brics.
“We support India in hosting this year’s meeting. We will work with it and other members to strengthen communication and dialogue and consolidate the three-pillar cooperation, expand Brics plus cooperation and work for greater progress under Brics. And also help the world to defeat Covid-19, resume economic growth and improve global governance,” Wang Wenbin, foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The “three pillars” Wang referred to were policy and security, economy and finance, and
culture and people-to-people exchanges.
Wang added that Brics is a cooperation mechanism of global influence consisting of emerging economies and developing countries.
“In recent years it has seen greater solidarity, deeper practical cooperation and a greater influence. It is now a positive, stable, and constructive force in international affairs,” he said.
“China attaches importance to this mechanism, and we are committed to deepening strategic partnership within it to consolidate solidarity and cooperation,” Wang added.
Wang did not respond to the question about whether President Xi Jinping will attend the Brics summit in India.
During his address during the last summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had indicated New Delhi’s focus during its chairship.
“During our presidency in 2021, we will try enhancing intra-brics cooperation by strengthening all the three pillars. We will endeavour to
enhance intra-brics solidarity and develop a solid institutional framework for this purpose,” Modi had said.
In December, China complimented India for hosting the Heads of the Government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the end of November, saying all member states spoke highly of the outcomes reached and appreciated India for organising the conference.
It was the first-time India had hosted the SCO Heads of Government meeting after it joined the eight-member grouping in 2017.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday attended the virtual meeting of the bloc which was also addressed by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.