Rumours swirl after Xi Jinping fails to give key Brics speech

Brics leaders, including China’s president Xi Jinping pose for a group photograph. Xi unexpectedly missed a speech on Tuesday and was replaced with his commerce minister. Photograph: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/EPA

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, unexpectedly skipped a scheduled speech at a key multilateral business forum in South Africa on Tuesday.

Xi arrived in Johannesburg for the Brics summit on Monday evening on what is only his second international trip this year, after visiting Moscow in March. He was met on the airport tarmac by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.