The First Sherpas Meeting of the 9th BRICS Summit will be held in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province,from February 23 to 24.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing on February 22 that Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi will attend the opening ceremony of the meeting and deliver a speech.

The meeting will attract more than 100 participants, including coordinators from all sides, foreign diplomats, and representatives from the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), according to Geng.

He said the Sherpas Meeting will discuss priority areas for BRICS cooperation this year, especially in the areas of political affairs, economy and culture, under the theme "BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future."

The Sherpas Meeting, as a major channel to push forward BRICS cooperation, aims at political preparation for the leaders' meeting. It is also routine for the BRICS chairmanship to hold several Sherpas Meetings before the summit.

"We believe the first Sherpas Meeting will be a good start for China's chairmanship this year," Geng said.

China officially took over the chairmanship on January 1. The 9th BRICS Summit will be held in Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian Province.

(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2017)