Zuma meets Xi ahead of BRICS summit

South African President Jacob Zuma has just met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Union Building in Pretoria, the executive capital of South Africa.Xi arrived in Pretoria on Monday and will attend the fifth BRICS summit in Durban on Tuesday and Wednesday. The two leaders have met each other many times before. This time, they are expected to hold talks and sign agreements covering many aspects.In a Monday news conference, President Zuma said that the collective economies of the BRICS nations are a crucial factor in the global economy, and considered the state visit by China as "very important". According to the South African Revenue Service, China is currently the South Africa’s largest trading partner and a significant investor. After the meeting, the two leaders will fly to Durban to join other leaders for the summit.