President Xi Jinping will miss a meeting of BRICS leaders in Rio de Janeiro, according to a Brazilian official familiar with the matter, marking the first time the Chinese leader has skipped the summit since taking power.

Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to skip the Brics summit in Brazil next month, which, if confirmed, will be his first-ever absence from the meeting of the grouping of emerging economies since taking office 12 years ago,

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that information about Xi's participation in the summit will be shared at the "appropriate time". Guo added that China supported Brazil’s BRICS presidency and sought to “promote deeper cooperation” among its members.