BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his support for Kazakhstan joining the BRICS bloc, according to Chinese state media reports on Wednesday. This endorsement comes as the group of developing nations considers further expansion to challenge the Western-dominated world order, which it views as outdated.
During a press conference alongside Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev after their meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital, Xi encouraged Kazakhstan to “play the role of a middle power on the international stage and make its due contribution to global governance.” He also endorsed Astana’s accession to the BRICS bloc.
China and Russia are advocating for the expansion of BRICS, which currently includes Brazil, India, and South Africa, to counterbalance Western economic dominance.
Originally coined by Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in 2001, the BRICS bloc was founded as an informal four-nation club in 2009 and added South Africa a year later. In August, the BRICS bloc agreed to admit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. However, Saudi Arabia has not yet joined the group. Argentina had planned to join BRICS, but President Javier Milei withdrew the country soon after taking office in December.
Xi is in Kazakhstan to attend a heads-of-state meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from July 3-4. During his meeting with Tokayev, China and Kazakhstan also agreed to double their two-way trade as soon as possible, the report added.