Ambassador Li made evaluations about the summit at the press conference held by the Chinese delegation after the 15th BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa on 22-24 August.
Li stated that the enlargement step taken by the BRICS group countries by inviting 6 new countries for official membership in the community is in line with their goals of “unifying the Global South” and “developing cooperation among developing countries”.
Responding to comments that inviting Iran, whose relations with the West are problematic, to the group will increase the anti-Western tendency of BRICS, Li said that BRICS “does not aim to create opposition to a particular bloc or other mechanisms, neither in its establishment nor in its enlargement”.
Li emphasized that BRICS adopts the principles of openness and inclusiveness and that member countries are always open to dialogue with the USA and European countries.
Pointing out that Saudi Arabia and Iran became members of the group together after re-establishing their diplomatic relations under the mediation of Beijing, Li said that BRICS has proven to be a platform that encourages dialogue and cooperation.
Li said that the BRICS’s focus on development and cooperation rather than ideological confrontation is the reason why many countries want to join the community at a time when tensions between China and the USA and the Russia-Ukraine War caused global turmoil.
The group of countries consisting of China and Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa decided to invite 6 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, to the group at the summit in Johannesburg.
The number of BRICS members will increase to 11 as of next year, with new members joining the community as of January 1, 2024.