BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhuanet) — Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to Russia, to attend two major gatherings — the 7th BRICS summit and the 15th SCO summit.The 2015 BRICS Summit begins today in Ufa, capital of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan. The theme of this year’s summit is “BRICS partnership: A powerful factor for global development”.
The meetings will focus on regional trade and infrastructure, bilateral cooperation within multilateral frameworks, as well as coordination in regional and international affairs. The summit will also deepen consensus on major initiatives including the Belt and Road initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank, while serving as a platform to voice a uniform stance on major international agendas, such as climate change and IMF reform.
A Ufa declaration will be adopted after the summit. It is reported that one of the priorities at this year’s summit is to develop an economic partnership strategy for the five BRICS members – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.