Poles apart? - Xi branches out in bid to build an alternative world order

It was a difficult summer for China's leader, Xi Jinping. He was faced with natural disasters, economic uncertainty and a roster of disappearing ministers.

- Amy Hawkins

But one highlight was the Brics summit in Johannesburg, at which six new countries were added to the bloc of emerging economies, more than doubling its size. With the new members, Brics will account for nearly half of the world's population.

Xi had long called for the admission of new members to strengthen the bloc's voice on the world stage and the expansion comes just as Beijing attempts to preserve and expand its international influence in the face of strained relations with the US.

China's domestic troubles are piling up, with slowing economic growth and high youth unemployment. The war in Ukraine has led to Beijing providing an economic lifeline to Russia, which has strained relations with the west and made China increasingly focused on winning influence in the global south.