Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Russia next week for a gathering of counterparts from the Brics group of emerging economies.

Wang will meet with other foreign ministers for talks "on issues of common concern such as Brics cooperation and current and regional situations", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday.

Mao said that Brics is an important platform for cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries and that members "have always been committed to safeguarding multilateralism".

The meeting takes place on Monday and Tuesday in western Russia's Nizhny Novgorod.

China is willing to work "to consolidate the Brics strategic relations, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, (and) promote shared development and joint self-reliance in the global South", Mao said.

The bloc, its name derived from the initials of founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, announced last year a major expansion in membership, described at the time by President Xi Jinping as "historic". (AFP)