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Xi Jinping's awkward moment at BRICS as aide stopped by security | Video
BRICS summit 2023: A Chinese official lagging behind Xi Jinping was prevented by security from entering the event hall on Wednesday.
China's President Xi Jinping arrived at the BRICS Summit in South Africa on Wednesday but was met with a rather awkward incident while passing the security check. In a video from the event that has gone viral, Jinping can be seen walking through the door, followed by a man who is prevented by the security from entering the hall.
The security stops the man from entering after Jinping and closes the door as the Chinese president briefly looks back but then continues to walk alone. The man, dressed formally, was later revealed to be a Chinese official whose movements raised suspicion among the security.
Also Read: PM Modi floats BRICS space group after Chandrayaan-3's successful lunar landing
Russian media ‘Russia Today’ took to Twitter to share the viral video and clarified that the Chinese official was lagging behind Jinping, which led to the confusion. “A Chinese official was seen lagging behind Xi Jinping at the summit in South Africa. As he attempted to catch up within the president, his movements raised the suspicions of security personnel,” the news outlet tweeted.
The BRICS or the group of leading developing countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa annual summit is being held in South Africa's Johannesburg.
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Modi-Xi's viral moment
The 15th edition of the ongoing summit saw another viral moment when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese president were seen standing apart during the group photo prior to the plenary sessions at the Sandton Convention Centre. This comes as India-China relations are going through a rough patch due to the prevailing deadlock on border issues and bilateral relations.
At the summit, PM Modi urged BRICS to send a global message of unity and not polarisation and also advocated for African Union’s membership of G20 among other topics. As the event coincided with India's moon mission Chandrayaan 3's successful landing on the lunar south pole on Wednesday evening, PM Modi also took the opportunity to float the idea of BRICS space group.
The three day summit will conclude on Thursday.
