Leaders of the BRICS emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- will meet in Johannesburg this week, with the threat of a worsening global trade war topping the agenda.
US President Donald Trump's hardening stance has compounded fears of an all-out trade war after he slapped levies on goods from China worth tens of billions of dollars as well as tariffs on steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, China's President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the annual three-day summit starting in Johannesburg tomorrow.
Xi held talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria on the eve of the gathering, saying that "the Johannesburg summit has special significance for BRICS cooperation in the new circumstances."