BEIJING, July 21. /TASS/. China is ready to increase cooperation and strengthen solidarity with the developing world jointly with its BRICS allies, according to a senior Chinese diplomat.

"China is ready, jointly with BRICS member states <...>, to strengthen solidarity and expand cooperation with developing countries and emerging economies," the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Ma Zhaoxu, the Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, as saying online at a BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting on July 20.

According to him, Beijing is set to put into practice important agreements that were reached between BRICS countries. Ma reiterated that China would contribute to gradually expanding the grouping by admitting new members.

At the coming BRICS summit to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, China plans to discuss a number of major issues and will work toward fruitful results in cooperation with its allies, Ma noted. He emphasized that Beijing intends to improve the level of cooperation with them.

The group’s moniker reflects its current membership of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The BRICS summit will be held on August 22-24. Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the event by video link, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent the country in person.