FFor the two Chinese automakers, the BRICS Summit was a success even before the event actually started. In front of the luxury hotel in Sandton, a suburb of Johannesburg, where brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW usually hang out, limousines from Chinese manufacturers Chery and Haval lined up this week. The peak logo with the rising sun is emblazoned on the license plate. The Chinese companies have officially handed over the cars to the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs as official companions at the summit.
The vehicle fleet is indicative of the central role China will play at the summit, which begins on Tuesday. In addition to BRICS representatives, a number of other heads of state and government as well as representatives of international institutions also took part, including the Secretary General of the United Nations. The night before, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and several ministers received Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping with his entourage at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport. The military flanked the red carpet while traditional dance troupes set the scene. Twelve hours later, Xi met with Ramaphosa at the government headquarters in Pretoria for bilateral talks as part of a state visit. Xi is the only leader of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) to combine the summit with his own state visit.
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