China’s Xi unexpectedly skipped a key BRICS event. No one is saying why
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday unexpectedly skipped a business forum of the BRICS economic group in South Africa, sending his commerce minister instead to deliver a fiery speech in his name that decried US hegemony.
Xi, who arrived in Johannesburg on Monday for the annual BRICS summit of major emerging economies, was scheduled to deliver a speech at its business forum on Tuesday alongside leaders from India, Brazil and South Africa.
But the Chinese leader failed to show up at the event, with no official announcement or explanation from Beijing.
Instead, his prepared statement – peppered with thinly-veiled swipes at the United States that have become a fixture of Xi’s international speeches – was delivered by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
