LEADERS of the Brics group of nations are holding a summit of the powerhouse bloc in the Indian state of Goa this weekend.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa represent nearly half the world’s population and a quarter of its economy, a combined £13.6 trillion.

Writing in the China Daily yesterday, Chinese Foreign Affairs University vice-president Wang Fan said: “The rise of the Brics countries is related to the fate of the whole world and humanity.