Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday gave a joint interview to Xinhua and media outlets from the other four BRICS countries ahead of his first state visit abroad.

Besides his trip to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo, Xi is also scheduled to attend the fifth leaders' meeting of BRICS, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Monday that Xi will visit Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo on March 22-30 and attend the fifth BRICS summit on March 26-27 in Durban, South Africa.

Following his election as general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in November, Xi was elected president of China during the first session of the 12th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, on March 14.

(CNTV.cn, Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2013)