With China expressing its support for India to host this year’s BRICS summit, observers don’t rule out the chances of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s travel to India. China’s announcement backing India to host the BRICS summit came as the armies of the two countries began disengagement of troops locked in over an eight-month-long standoff in eastern Ladakh.
China on Monday said that it will work with New Delhi to strengthen the cooperation among the five-member grouping of emerging economies. Notably, India has assumed the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Chairmanship for 2021 and is set to hold this year’s summit.
Earlier on February 19, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched India’s BRICS 2021 website at the BRICS Secretariat at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi. Asked about India assuming the BRICS Chairmanship this year, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing that Beijing backs New Delhi in hosting the summit.
