BEIJING, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the BRICS bloc to be a peacemaker in the Middle East conflict, in an address to a summit of member countries in New Delhi on Saturday.
China will work with other BRICS members in that role, as the war “does not serve the common interests of the international community”, state-run CCTV quoted Xi as saying.
BRICS groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
It was set up in 2009 to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies. Together, its members account for more than 40% of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the global economy.
The Chinese leader called the bloc a “leading group” in the Global South and a model of self-reliance among emerging and developing countries that should promote innovation-driven development.
He said China would assume the BRICS chairmanship next year, and host the 19th BRICS summit, according to CCTV.
(Reporting by Liam Mo and Liz Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Andrew Heavens)
