On January 9, 2024, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the Symposium on the International Situation and China's Foreign Relations in 2023 that during China's chairmanship in 2022, President Xi Jinping called on fellow BRICS countries to pursue development with open doors and boost cooperation with open arms, and appealed for admitting new members to pool greater strengths. With the unanimous consent of all members, the BRICS expansion process was launched in the China Summit year. After a year of preparation and consultation, leaders of the five BRICS countries made a political decision on expansion at the Johannesburg Summit in 2023, and officially welcomed new members to the BRICS family.

Wang Yi said, the expansion marks a milestone in the development of the BRICS mechanism, and ushers in a new era of strength through unity for the Global South. The expanded "greater BRICS" will surely play a stronger role in shaping a more just and equitable global governance system, and increasing the representation and voice of the Global South in international affairs.