(Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on BRICS countries to work for high-quality development of broader BRICS cooperation.
Xi made the remarks in a speech at the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired the summit, which was also attended by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva participated in this summit by videoconference.
In a small group meeting, Xi Jinping welcomed new members of the BRICS family and invited several countries to become partner countries.
Xi stressed that the expansion of BRICS is an important milestone in its development history and a historic event in the development of the international situation. It is to pursue their common endeavors and to support a global trend towards peace and development that the BRICS countries have come together, he said.
Stressing that the world is going through accelerating changes on a scale not seen in a century, marked by new trends of multipolarity and risks of a “new Cold War”, Xi Jinping said BRICS countries should seize this historic opportunity, take proactive measures, remain committed to the original aspiration and mission of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, conform to the general trend of the rise of the Global South, seek ground understanding while preserving differences, working together to further consolidate common values, preserve common interests, and strengthen BRICS countries through unity.
“We should work together to make BRICS a main channel for promoting solidarity and cooperation of the Global South and a pioneer in pushing forward global governance reform,” Xi said.
The more turbulent the world is, the more BRICS countries must raise the banner of peace, development and win-win cooperation, refine the essence of BRICS and demonstrate their strength, he stressed. BRICS countries should raise the voice of peace, championing a new path to security that involves dialogue rather than confrontation and partnerships rather than alliances.
The Chinese president called on BRICS countries to jointly pursue a path toward development, uphold beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and remain committed to the principles of common development. BRICS countries should further consolidate the foundations of cooperation, deepen cooperation in traditional areas such as agriculture, energy, minerals, economy and trade, strengthen cooperation in emerging areas such as ecology, low-carbon technologies and artificial intelligence, and preserving trade, investment and financial security.
The Chinese president then attended a large-scale meeting, made important statements on the future development of BRICS, and put forward five suggestions.
“The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation and we are faced with a crucial choice. Let the world slide into instability and chaos or return it to the path of peace and development?” Mr. Xi.
The stormier the weather, the more we must courageously stand at the forefront with perseverance, pioneering spirit and wisdom to adapt, he stressed, adding that China is ready to work with all BRICS countries to open a new horizon for quality development of broader BRICS cooperation.
“We must build a peaceful BRICS and act as defenders of common security,” Xi said. It is only by having a vision of common, integrated, cooperative and sustainable security that we will be able to forge a path to universal security, he added.
Xi called on BRICS countries to adhere to the three essential principles of non-expanding the battlefield, non-escalation of fighting and non-provoking tensions, and work to quickly ease the situation in Ukraine.
He also called on the BRICS countries to promote an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and to work tirelessly towards a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestine question.
“We must build an innovative BRICS and act as a pioneer of quality development,” Xi said. “We must keep pace with the times and cultivate new quality productive forces.”
The Chinese president said China recently established the China-BRICS Center for Artificial Intelligence Development and Cooperation, and will establish a BRICS center for international research on deep-sea resources , a Chinese center for cooperation on the development of BRICS special economic zones, a Chinese center for BRICS industrial capabilities and a BRICS cooperation network for digital ecosystems, inviting all interested parties to actively participate.
“We must build a green BRICS and act as actors for sustainable development,” he said.
He observed that China’s high-quality production capacity, demonstrated by its electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products, offered an important contribution to green development around the world.
China is willing to put forward its strengths to expand cooperation with BRICS countries in green industries, clean energy and green mining, and strengthen green development across the industrial chain, with a view to “greener” cooperation and better quality development, he added.
“We must build a fair and equitable BRICS, and act as a forerunner in reforming the global governance system,” Xi said.
The international balance of power is undergoing profound change, the reform of the global governance system has long been delayed, he said, calling on the BRICS countries to defend true multilateralism and pursue the vision of global governance based on the principles of broad consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.
BRICS countries should ensure that global governance reform is guided by the principles of justice, equity, openness and inclusion, and strengthen the representation and voice of developing countries in global governance.
BRICS countries should promote the interconnection of financial infrastructure, maintain high-level financial security, expand and strengthen the New Development Bank, so that the international financial system can better reflect the development of the global economic scene, noted the Chinese president.
“We must build a human and cultural BRICS and act as promoters of harmonious coexistence among civilizations,” Xi said.
Stressing that it is important for BRICS countries to foster a spirit of inclusiveness and harmonious coexistence among different civilizations and intensify exchanges of governance experiences among BRICS countries, Xi said he is pleased to see that the initiative for BRICS cooperation on digital education had become a reality, adding that China would implement a plan to strengthen BRICS capacities in digital education, create ten centers of overseas studies in the next five years, and would offer 1,000 training places for educational administration staff, teachers and students.
China is willing to work with BRICS countries to open new prospects for the high-quality development of broader BRICS cooperation, and jointly work to build the community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said.
(Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
(Xinhua/Li Xueren)
