‘BRICS plus’ Proves Its Worth

On Sept. 4， BRICS leaders met in Xiamen， China， at the Ninth BRICS Summit. Under the theme “BRICS： Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future”， the leaders discussed international and regional issues， global governance and BRICS cooperation， and adopted the BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration.

Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested that coverage of BRICS cooperation should be expanded， allowing it to benefit a greater number of people. Xi also said that the “BRICS plus” cooperation approach should be promoted， along with building an open and diversified network of development partnerships to involve more emerging markets and developing countries in concerted endeavors for cooperation and mutual benefit.

The world is full of expectations for BRICS cooperation. The “BRICS plus” approach has been well received by Thailand， Guinea and other countries， which are looking forward to building a new platform for South-South cooperation.

Stronger Cooperation with Developing Countries

“BRICS plus” is an innovative development of the BRICS cooperation mechanism， a precursor to the rise of the status and role of emerging markets and developing countries in global governance. The leaders of five non-BRICS countries — Thailand， Egypt， Mexico， Guinea and Tajikistan — were invited to attend the Dialogue of Emerging Markets and Developing Countries.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha commented that “BRICS plus” reflects the views of most emerging markets and developing countries， which will promote the rationality of BRICS cooperation around the world.

“This dialogue of emerging markets and developing countries is an example of the inclusiveness of BRICS cooperation，” Prayuth said. BRICS is playing an important leading role in emerging markets and developing countries， and has contributed to the improvement of global economic governance to match the development of the world. These steps have been increasingly acknowledged by the international community.

As a Chinese saying goes， “It is easy to break one arrow but hard to break 10 arrows bundled together.” BRICS cooperation has been sustained for 10 years. During his meeting with BRICS foreign ministers on June 19， President Xi emphasized that “BRICS cooperation is an innovation which transcends the old pattern of political and military alliances and pursues partnerships rather than alliances.” The Chinese-proposed “BRICS plus” aims at increasing the benefits brought about by BRICS cooperation.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi introduced the concept of “BRICS plus” at a news conference earlier. “BRICS plus” refers to BRICS further enhancing its connections， interaction， dialogue and cooperation with other emerging market economies and developing countries in order to better reflect the common ground and collective will of developing countries through BRICS cooperation.

BRICS cooperation is a “booster” of the solidarity and cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries. It works for BRICS members as well as other emerging markets and developing countries. As enshrined in the BRICS spirit of openness， inclusiveness， cooperation and win-win results， different social systems and cultures can accommodate one another and different development models can work with each other.

Zhang Jianping， a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation （CAITEC， under China’s Ministry of Commerce）， believes that “BRICS plus” is significant in that it is a platform that can accommodate more representative economies around the world in BRICS cooperation. The pooling of wisdom for solutions in various fields will push forward the implementation of pragmatic BRICS cooperation projects.

As for membership of “BRICS plus”， Zhang believes it is a dynamic process which is associated with the BRICS chairmanship， international organizations and representation. For example， China holds the rotating chair of the bloc. Thailand was invited as an observer and a representative of ASEAN， since ASEAN member states are China’s neighbors and feature close cooperation in economics and trade， finance and other areas.

Georgy Toloraya， executive director of the National Committee on BRICS Studies in Russia， believes that China’s proposition of the concept of “BRICS plus” is “a major contribution to the development of BRICS as a global mechanism”.

“BRICS should not only deal with the internal affairs of the five member states， but also invite influential powers to work together to solve global problems，” Toloraya said.

Emerging Markets and Developing Countries

On Sept. 5， the leaders of Egypt， Mexico， Tajikistan， Guinea and Thailand joined the five BRICS leaders at the Dialogue of Emerging Markets and Developing Countries as guests of China， the rotating chair of BRICS. This marked a successful practice of the “BRICS plus” approach.

President Xi pointed out in his speech at the dialogue that since the beginning of the 21st century， the collective rise of emerging markets and developing countries has become an irreversible trend of our times. Recently， the world economy has moved in a positive direction. International trade and investment has picked up. A new round of technological and industrial revolution is in the making. New businesses， new technologies and new products continue to emerge. In this sense， emerging markets and developing countries are faced with rare opportunities for development.

As the world economy enters a key stage of old drivers of growth being replaced with new ones， the interaction between major powers on interests and rules is increasingly fierce. The external environment for emerging markets and developing countries is also becoming more and more complex. President Alpha Conde of the Republic of Guinea said that China has become Guinea’s most trusted partner. China represents opportunity for Africa， just as Africa represents opportunity for China. China-proposed “win-win cooperation” will promote the development of both China and Africa and benefit the people on both sides.

President Xi noted that China attaches great importance to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and has attained early success in economic， social and environmental efforts， as well as other endeavors. In order to promote international development cooperation， China will help fellow developing countries in implementing the agenda. China will provide US$500 million to the Assistance Fund for South-South Cooperation to help fellow developing countries tackle famine， refugee issues， climate change， public health and a host of other challenges.

From the G20 Hangzhou Summit to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the BRICS Xiamen Summit， China has been cooperating with all parties to explore methods of attaining win-win cooperation. The Chinese proposition for global governance has inspired the world. The Chinese inspiration has evolved into world solutions. What’s more important， China has taken concrete actions. It has not only shown its willingness to enhance experience-sharing and capacity-building cooperation with other countries， but also worked out explicit short， medium and long-term plans and goals.

The “BRICS plus” approach is undoubtedly an innovation for expanding and deepening cooperation among developing countries. Most of the developing countries in the world， including ASEAN countries， have high expectations for the future. Given new circumstances， emerging markets and developing countries need to pull together and work hand-in-hand more confidently to foster a favorable environment for greater development， and make an even bigger contribution to global growth.