China backs expansion of BRICS grouping with “likeminded partners”

China on Thursday said Beijing views the BRICS as an ''open and inclusive'' platform and it backs moves to expand the five-member grouping with “like-minded partners”.

Asked at a media briefing here about reports saying that India wants an agreement to be reached on the process of expanding BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had not seen the report but “in principle, China always holds that BRICS is open and inclusive”.

“We support BRICS expansion and welcome more like-minded partners to join the BRICS family,'' she said.

As BRICS countries proposed to hold the next summit in South Africa in August this year, media reports say several countries have evinced interest in joining the grouping of emerging markets.

According to reports, 19 countries -- Argentina, Nicaragua, Mexico, Uruguay, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkiye, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Bangladesh -- have evinced interest in joining the BRICS grouping.

The BRICS brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing 41 per cent of the global population, 24 per cent of the global GDP, and 16 per cent of the global trade.