“BRICS+” Injects Positive Energy into the World
From the initial launch of the BRICS cooperation among Brazil, Russia, India, and China, to the later accession of South Africa, and then to the increase in like-minded partners hoping to join this mechanism, the BRICS cooperation mechanism is showing greater attractiveness, injecting stability and positive energy into the otherwise turbulent world.
Deepen unity and cooperation to address risksand challenges
As an important supporting event of the 15th BRICS Leaders, Summit, the 2023 BRICS Business Forum discussed a series of economic, political, cultural, and glob al governance issues.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the closing ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum entitled “Deepening Unity and Cooperation to Address Risks and Challenges, and Building A Better World Together”.
Xi Jinping emphasized that in today’s world, the collective rise of emerging market countries and developing countries represented by the BRICS countries has been fundamentally changing the global landscape. Emerging market countries and developing countries have contributed up to 80% of global economic growth in the past 20 years, and their global share of GDP has increased from 24% to more than 40% in the past 40 years. “Today, the BRICS countries and more than 50 other countries are gathering in South Africa. It is not about choosing sides or engaging in camp confrontations, but about creating a grand pattern of peaceful development. I am pleased to see that more than 20 countries are lining up to join the BRICS, and China sincerely welcomes everyone to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism.”
South African President Matamela Ramafusa stated in his speech that the significance of the BRICS mechanism is not limited to enhancing inter-governmental relations, but is also related to enhancing mutual connections among the five peoples. It is precisely for this reason that since the establishment of the BRICS mechanism, a series of institutions were also established, promoting mutual cooperation among enterprises, political parties, social organizations, and the sports sector. The BRICS Business Forum is an important and dynamic platform for strengthening economic ties and promoting inclusive development through a common perspective.
Brazilian President Lula expressed support for the formation of a BRICS common currency in his speech. He stated that the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank is a milestone in effectively coordinating emerging market countries and has played a leading role in project financing.
Russian President Putin delivered a speech through video. He believes that the principles of cooperation among BRICS countries are equality, partnership support, and respect for each others interests. Putin stated that the U.S. dollar is irreversibly losing its global role, and ade-dollarizationJ is on the rise. Major emerging market countries are also striving to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar.
Indian Prime Minister Modi believes that the BRICS countries are becoming a beacon of hope for the world economy. When the first BRICS Leaders, Summit was held in 2009, the world had just emerged from an economic crisis. Nowadays, the BRICS countries have become the fastest growing economies.
Excellent record in cooperation achievements
Since we entered 2023, BRICS countries have made progress in various fields such as trade, investment and sustainable development, infrastructure connectivity (including new and alternative trade and transportation routes), financial integration, technology and innovation (including the digital economy, space exploration and vaccine development).
China is the largest trading partner of Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa. In the first seven months of 2023, China’s foreign trade with other BRICS countries reached RMB 2.38 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 19.1%, accounting for 10.1% of Chinas total foreign trade, an increase of 1.6%. Among them, exports increased by 23.9% and imports increased by 14.3%. “
China and Brazil are comprehensive strategic partners for one another, and China has been BraziFs largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. The important role of energy cooperation between China and Russia has also been further strengthened. The agricultural cooperation has good prospects and the local currency settlement and cooperation in emerging fields have been making steady progress. Both China and India are emerging market economies and are in a rapid development stage. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and India reached USD 135.984 billion, reaching a new historical high. The economic and trade cooperation between China and South Africa has further maintained a good momentum. In 2022, China remained the largest trading partner of South Africa for the 14th consecutive year, and South Africa has been China’s largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years.
The total population, land area, total economic scale, and trade volume of the BRICS countries account for approximately 42%, 26%, 25%, and 18% of the world total, respectively. The total shares of the five countries in the International Monetary Fund and the voting rights in the World Bank are about 14%.
The BRICS countries have established close cooperation with emerging markets and developing countries through BRICS outreach activities and the “BRICS+” cooperation mechanism, promoting the impact of BRICS cooperation beyond the scope of the five countries, giving BRICS global influence.
Provide a broad cooperation platform
When strolling through the BRICS Commodity Service Center located in the industry park of Xiamen Xiangyu, you will find a wide range of special products from BRICS countries. By leveraging cross-border e-commerce and expanding logistics channels, this trade and economic service platform has enabled more and more BRICS goods to be purchased by Chinese households.
“For us business people, BRICS is a broader market and brings us many golden opportunities.” Indian merchant Nilen Anand, who is doing business in Xiamen, talked a lot about BRICS cooperation. From a small and unknown company more than a decade ago to a shoe making enterprise with hundreds of employees tod功 the growth and development of Anands company have benefited from the opportunities opened up by the BRICS mechanism.
During the 2 017 BRICS Leaders, Xiamen Meeting, Xi Jinping pointed out that the significance of BRICS cooperation has exceeded the scope of the five countries and carries the expectations of emerging market countries, developing countries, and even the entire international community. China has pioneered the concept of “BRICS+” cooperation, leading BRICS cooperation to a new stage.
“More and more countries want to join BRICS, which proves that this is a successful cooperation model and will lead to win-win situations. I also want to use ‘BRICS+’ to expand markets and sell products to more countries,” Anand said with a smile.
Over the years, the “BRICS+” model has been continuously deepening and expanding, becoming a model for emerging market countries and developing countries to engage in South-South cooperation and achieve joint self-improvement. It also provides strong power for driving economic growth and global development.
This meeting will revolve around the theme of “BRICS and Africa: Deepening Partnership, Promoting Mutual Growth, Achieving Sustainable Development, and Enhancing Inclusive Multilateralism”, and jointly creating a bright future for BRICS and injecting new vitality and vitality into “BRICS+”. Walking hand in hand with Africa and resonating with developing countries are the inheritance and practice of the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation.
The South Center i s a n intergovernmental international organization for developing countries based in Geneva, Switzerland. In the view of its Executive Director Carlos Correa, the BRICS cooperation mechanism “represents the interests of developing countries, truly focuses on development, and benefits people’s livelihoods”. It makes the global development landscape more comprehensive and balanced, and makes unremitting contributions to promoting world prosperity and stability, which is the essence of BRICS cooperation.
Irina Kokushkina, associate professor of Economics at the St. Petersburg State University in Russia, said that the cooperation achievements of BRICS countries in various fields such as the economy and trade, agriculture, and aerospace indicate that the BRICS cooperation mechanism has gradually become a powerful tool for cooperation among developing countries.
She believes that with the increasing global economic and political uncertainty, developing and expanding mutually beneficial and equal cooperation among countries is one of the most urgent tasks for the international community. In this context, many countries have expressed their willingness to join the BRICS, indicating that equal cooperation holds a great attraction for developing countries.
Prasoon Sharma, Director of India’s Global Center for Chinese studies, also believes that the world needs a new mechanism to bring developing countries together. BRICS countries have over 40% of the world’s population, and their development is facilitated through discussions, cooperation, and mutual support among member countries. Therefore, the BRICS cooperation mechanism is very important, especially in terms of economic development.
Saheli Chattaraj, professor of China Studies at the Academy of International Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia University, said that in the past few years, the export growth rate among BRICS countries has exceeded the global average. Strengthening economic cooperation and achieving common development were the original intention of BRICS cooperation. It has rich contents and huge potential.
Clear trend of digitization
The digital e c o n o my i s an important direction for the development of the world economy. In recent years, BRICS countries have attached great importance to the development of the digital economy and have continuously expanded opportunities for digital economic cooperation. In November 2020, the BRICS countries formulated the ‘BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy 2025’, making the digital economy a key area of cooperation among the BRICS countries.
The digital transformation of the manufacturing industry is a trend that aligns with the industrial development direction of BRICS countries. In September last year, the BRICS PartNIT Innovation Center was officially established in Xiamen, Fujian, which has greatly promoted practical cooperation in the fields of digitization, industrialization, and innovation among BRICS countries, which have jointly achieved higher quality and more resilient development. Since the beginning of this year, the innovation center has integrated the resources of BRICS countries, established and improved operating mechanisms, and made contributions to the BRICS “Year of China” through various forms, such as by conducting collaborative research with think tanks, holding training courses, and selecting demonstration projects.
“Nowadays, the BRICS countries have gained a good opportunity to use their own institutional innovation to build a new global development pattern.” Fradkov, Chairman of the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies, said that the arrival of the new round of industrial revolution means that industry will introduce a large amount of information technologies and that artificial intelligence will also be popularized. aDigital trends provide important opportunities for BRICS countries to achieve technological bre akthroughs
Ashraf Patel, a digital economy expert at the Institute for Global Dialog, a South African think tank, said that the digital economy will pl呼 an important role in the recovery of the world’s economy. Under the BRICS cooperation mechanism, member countries can acquire cutting-edge technologies through exchange and cooperation, thereby promoting industrialization and advancing the fourth Industrial Revolution.
“BRICS+” mechanism is showing more attractiveness and appeal
The BRICS cooperation mechanism is demonstrating greater attractiveness and appeal. The issue of “expansion” to be discussed at this year’s BRICS summit has received wide attention from the international community. The South African Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation stated that more than 20 countries have applied to join BRICS, and more countries have also expressed their willingness to join.
Mukhtar Gobashi, Deputy Chairman of the Arabian Political and Strategic Research Center in Egypt, believes that an increasing number of countries hope to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism, indicating that it is an attractive mechanism with significant influence over the global economy. Selchuk Cholakolu, director of the Turkish Asia Pacific Research Center, said that other developing countries hope to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism and inject more impetus into their own economic
development through mutual learning and cooperation. manager at the GIBS Business School at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, stated that the inclusiveness of the BRICS mechanism has also Experts from many countries are optimistic about the development prospects of the BRICS cooperation mechanism. Farhana Paruk, a senior attracted many countries to apply for membership, which will create more trade and investment opportunities. Zikamabahari Jean De Dieu, Dean of the Law School of the University of Kigali in Rwanda, said that with strong economic growth potential and a firm commitment to multilateralism, the development prospects of BRICS cooperation are broad.
At the same time, the strong vitality and influence of the BRICS cooperation mechanism play an important role in promoting global multi-polarization and strengthening the multilateral system of global governance. The Egyptian Daily News commented that as the BRICS countries become major participants in the global economy, the influence of the BRICS mechanism is increasing, and it will better contribute to improving global economic governance and establishing a more just and equitable world order.
Leonardo Ramos, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, also stated that the BRICS cooperation mechanism has brought a win-win model with a southern perspective to the international community, and its influence has exceeded the scope of the BRICS countries. As a mechanism closely related to the process of South-South cooperation, the BRICS cooperation mechanism plays an important role in promoting the economic development of developing countries. Under this mechanism, BRICS countries can pl an important role in seeking fairness and efficiency in global governance and building a balanced multilateral system.