China issues special postal stamp for 9th BRICS summit

Beijing (China): China today issued a special postal stamp to commemorate the ninth annual BRICS summit scheduled to be held early next month in the coastal city of Xiamen in the country’s southeastern Fujian province.

The stamp issued by the state-owned China Post bears a logo of the summit as well as the letters “BRICS” and “2017 China”.

It also shows the scenic Gulangyu island, which was included into the UNESCO list last month, as well as the other iconic sites of Xiamen like Xiamen University.

“It shows the features of Xiamen,” Zhang Zhijun, who is associated with the Xiamen branch of China Post, was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

“With the sea we would like to imply that the summit is a new starting point for the countries to sail into a bright future,” he said.

The summit will be held from September 3 to 5. It is the second BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit to be held in China. The previous one was held in Sanya, Hainan province, in 2011.

The summit is being held in the backdrop of border tensions between India and China over the standoff at the Doklam area in the Sikkim section which has now entered the third month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides leaders of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa is expected to take part in the summit.

Philatelists can buy eight-stamp sheets or individual stamps. The small sheet is made of silk, with a panorama picture of Gulangyu island by a local photographer Zhu Qingfu.

The price of one stamp is 1.2 yuan (about 18 cents).

China previously has also issued stamps for the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

The BRICS forum, an independent international organisation encouraging commercial, political and cultural cooperation between the five-member nations, was formed in 2011.