Bernama reported Anwar as saying Xi expressed this to him in their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing today.

“This is a great honour for our nation to receive support to continue an important role on the world stage,” he told members of the Malaysian media covering his four-day trip to China.

BRICS currently comprises 10 countries – Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

Malaysia became a partner country in the bloc late last year.

During their meeting earlier, Anwar also thanked Xi for the invitation to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus summit in Tianjin yesterday.

China has remained Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 16 years since 2009.

Total trade between the two countries was valued at RM484.12 billion in 2024, representing 16.8% of Malaysia’s total global trade of RM2.879 trillion.