President Xi Jinping lands at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Monday night on a state visit to South Africa. He is also attending the 15th BRICS Summit, which starts Tuesday. Photo: Li Xueren/Xinhua

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes Xi at the airport. Photo: Huang Jingwen/Xinhua

Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, greets Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva as he arrived in Johannesburg for the BRICS summit Monday morning. Photo: VCG

An honor guard of soldiers from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) stand by as Lula and his wife Brazil Rosangela da Silva land at the O.R. Tambo International Airport. Photo: VCG

On Monday, members of the South African defense force march in formation at Innes Free Park in Johannesburg as part of a display of readiness ahead of the BRICS summit. Photo: Jemal Countess/VCG

South African police patrol the venue for the BRICS summit at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg. Photo: Michele Spatari/VCG

Security forces enforce access restrictions on areas surrounding the convention center ahead of the summit. Photo: Wang Zili/Caixin

Police officers guard the convention center on Monday. The summit, which will last through Thursday, is the first in-person BRICS gathering of the group’s leaders since the start of the pandemic. Photo: Wang Zili/Caixin