Xi Focus: Xi pumps more BRICS power into global economic governance

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for strengthening global economic governance at a time when the world economy faces strong headwinds on its path toward recovery and global development has suffered major setbacks amid an unprecedented pandemic.

"We should promote extensive consultation and joint contribution to deliver shared benefits, enhance global economic governance, and increase the representation and say of emerging markets and developing countries. This will ensure that all countries enjoy equal rights, follow the rules as equals, and share equal opportunities," Xi said in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on Wednesday.

The BRICS mechanism of five major emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- has traveled a glorious path since its inception in 2006.

Accounting for 23 percent of the global economy, 18 percent of trade in goods and 25 percent of foreign investment, BRICS countries have formed an important force that cannot be ignored in the world economy.

"The unstoppable rise of emerging markets and developing countries has injected strong impetus to the reform of the global economic governance system," Xi said at the plenary session of the BRICS Brasilia summit in 2019.

BRICS POWER

The world's economic center of gravity has been shifting from the North to the developing South, said the Global Development Report issued Monday by the Center for International Knowledge on Development.

The gross domestic product share of emerging markets and developing countries in the global economy evaluated by purchasing power parity increased from roughly the same as that of advanced economies during the financial crisis to nearly 60 percent in 2020, the report said.

The global governance system is being rapidly reshaped, with developing countries making more of their voices heard. Meanwhile, more global governance platforms are emerging. The G20, BRICS, and a variety of regional and sub-regional cooperation bodies are playing an increasingly important role, according to the report.

In 2014, the BRICS countries decided to establish the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement.

Xi once said the moves have "provided financing support for infrastructure building and sustainable development of the BRICS countries, contributing to enhanced global economic governance and the building of an international financial safety net."

From renewable energy projects in Brazil to railway network upgrade programs in India and new toll roads in Russia, the New Development Bank has approved more than 80 projects in member countries and handed out 30 billion U.S. dollars in loans.

According to the bank, from 2022 to 2026, it will provide 30 billion U.S. dollars of financial support for member countries, with 40 percent of the funds to be used for mitigating global warming.

At the plenary session of the BRICS Xiamen summit, Xi called for efforts to advance the reform of global economic governance, increase the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries, and inject new impetus into the efforts to address the development gap between the North and South and boost global growth.

"The development of the emerging markets and developing countries is not intended to move the cheese of anyone but to make the pie of the global economy bigger," Xi said in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum in 2017.

"We should join hands to steer the course of economic globalization, offer more vision and public goods, make the governance model and rules more balanced and inclusive, and improve and reshape international division of labor and global value chains," Xi said on the same occasion.

DEVELOPMENT AS KEY

Last September, Xi put forward a Global Development Initiative, calling on all parties to forge united, equal, balanced and inclusive global development partnership.

The initiative aims to arouse the attention of the international community on development issues, promote the strengthening of the global development partnership, effectively respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic, help developing countries speed up recovery, and achieve the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals as scheduled, according to the Global Development Report.

"Development holds the key to solving various difficult problems and delivering better lives to the people," Xi said at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on Wednesday.

On this important occasion, Xi urged strengthening cooperation to better safeguard food and energy security, seize opportunities presented by the new scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, help developing countries speed up the development of the digital economy and green transformation, and engage in cooperation on COVID-19 response to beat the virus at an early date.

Just as Xi put it, "BRICS is not a talking shop, but a task force that gets things done."

In 2018, the BRICS Johannesburg summit endorsed the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution proposed by China and South Africa. Two years later, China announced the establishment of a BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution innovation center in Xiamen. So far, more than 120,000 personnel from 28 countries have been trained and more than 100 BRICS demonstration projects have been launched.

Xi on Wednesday called on business leaders to actively participate in building the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution, strengthen cooperation on the digital economy, smart manufacturing, clean energy and low-carbon technology, and support the industrial restructuring and upgrading in BRICS countries.

OPEN, INCLUSIVE

Since its inception, the BRICS mechanism has set the right direction for openness and inclusiveness. China proposed the "BRICS Plus" cooperation model at the Xiamen summit in 2017.

"We may explore 'BRICS Plus' cooperation within the United Nations, the G20, and other frameworks to advance the common interests and boost the development space for emerging markets and developing countries, thus contributing more to world peace and development through broader partnerships," Xi said at the plenary session of the BRICS Johannesburg summit.

"As a cooperation platform with global influence, BRICS cooperation is more than about our five countries. Rather, it carries the expectations of emerging markets and developing countries and indeed the international community," Xi has said.

Under China's chairmanship, more than 70 meetings and events have been held since the start of the year on fields including political security, economy, trade and finance, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, sustainable development and public health.

This year, the "BRICS Plus" dialogue was elevated to the foreign minister level for the first time. China will encourage BRICS parties to continue in-depth discussions on membership expansion, expand the reach and benefits of BRICS cooperation, and use the "BRICS Plus" model to enable more countries to get on the express train of development.

"Despite changes in an evolving global environment, the historical trend of openness and development will not reverse course, and our shared desire to meet challenges together through cooperation will remain as strong as ever," Xi said Wednesday, urging countries to rise to challenge and forge ahead with resolve toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity.