The admission of partner countries into the "BRICS family" marks a new level of cooperation within the association, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing on Tuesday.
Earlier, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said that Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan will officially become BRICS partner countries from January 1, 2025. By the end of this year, Russia, which holds the chairmanship of the bloc in 2024, will hand it over to Brazil.
Mao Ning noted that the representativeness of the BRICS mechanism has been further expanded, and the attractiveness and influence have become more obvious.
The diplomat added that the association is becoming an increasingly important platform for promoting unity and cooperation in the Global South.