(VOVWORLD) - BRICS leaders will meet in South Africa next week to discuss how to turn a loose club of nations accounting for a quarter of the global economy into a geopolitical force that can challenge the West’s dominance in world affairs.
 An attendant is stands next to South African, Indian, Russian, Brazilian and Chinese flags during a plenary session of BRICS Summit, in Xiamen, China, September 4, 2017. (Photo: REUTERS/Tyrone Siu) |
South Africa will host Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BRICS summit from August 22 to 24.
Few details have emerged about what they plan to discuss, but expansion is expected to be high on the agenda, as some 40 nations have shown interest in joining, either formally or informally, according to South Africa.
They include Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt. China, seeking to expand its geopolitical influence as its tussles with the United States, wants to enlarge BRICS quickly, while Brazil is resisting expansion, fearing the already unwieldy club could see its stature diluted by it.