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The considerable focus that South Africa is directing towards Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit seemed to have irked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, coinciding with Xi’s state visit and the commencement of the BRICS Summit on Tuesday, August 22nd, reported Daily Maverick.
Daily Maverick is a South African online news publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to get off from his aircraft at Waterkloof Air Force Base due to the fact that the South African government had dispatched only a Cabinet minister for his official welcome, the report said. In contrast, President Cyril Ramaphosa personally stood on the tarmac to receive Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival on Monday evening.
In the end, Ramaphosa swiftly sent Deputy President Paul Mashatile from the Union Buildings, where formalities for Xi were taking place, to hurriedly extend a welcome to Modi at Waterkloof.
The report said that Xi undoubtedly took center stage throughout the day. To kick things off, he was accorded an abbreviated state visit on the morning preceding the commencement of the BRICS Summit — marking his fourth state visit to South Africa. His presence for state visits has been noted during the previous two BRICS summits held in the country in 2013 and 2018, as well as when he participated alongside Ramaphosa in co-chairing the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2015.
Pretoria had aspired to arrange a similar event for Modi during this year’s BRICS Summit, yet officials cited scheduling conflicts that hindered such plans.
Beyond the state visit, Ramaphosa bestowed upon Xi the Order of South Africa, the nation’s paramount official accolade. Additionally, the two leaders are set to jointly preside over a distinctive roundtable discussion, in the company of several African leaders attending the BRICS Summit, for an outreach session with the BRICS leadership.
Amidst the grandeur and formalities, it is evident that Ramaphosa and Xi engaged in substantive discussions, primarily centered around the pressing issue of mitigating South Africa’s substantial trade deficit with China.
