Rio de Janeiro: China and Russia should strengthen the BRICS mechanism, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has communicated to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. This meeting took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on Monday, as mentioned in a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. According to Anadolu Agency, the two countries are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations, a milestone marked by Lavrov acknowledging the unprecedented high level of bilateral relations between Moscow and Beijing. Wang Yi emphasized the importance of working with BRICS partners to implement the outcomes of the Kazan Summit, aiming to expand and strengthen the BRICS mechanism. He highlighted the need to enhance the influence of the global South and to play a significant role in the multipolarization of the world. Russia hosted an annual summit of the BRICS last month in Kazan, a southwestern city. The BRICS group, initially founded in 2009 with Brazil , Russia, India, and China, formally included South Africa in 2011, thus forming the current acronym from the initials of its five members. Last December, the bloc extended invitations to six more nations, namely Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, Belarus has become the first BRICS partner country. In addition to discussing BRICS, Wang Yi informed Lavrov that China has assumed the presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. He expressed China's willingness to collaborate closely with Russia to promote further development within the bloc. He also noted that the next year marks the 80th anniversary of World War II, suggesting that China and Russia should jointly organize commemorative activities to defend the outcomes of the victory, uphold international fairness and justice, and learn from history to shape the future. The ministers also addressed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has continued for over 1,000 days since February 2022, a s well as the situation on the Korean Peninsula, according to the statement.