The BRICS countries now account for about 30 percent of the global GDP, nearly half the global population, and one-fifth of global trade after the group’s expansion from five members to 10 in January.
The enlargement of BRICS is “a major milestone” in its history and “a landmark event” in the evolution of the international situation, said Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.
Xi said the ongoing summit has decided to invite a number of nations to become BRICS partner countries, hailing the decision as “another important development” of the group.
“We must work together to build BRICS into a primary channel for strengthening solidarity and cooperation among Global South nations and a vanguard for advancing global governance reform,” he said.
The Kazan summit is the first face-to-face gathering of the group’s leaders after Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became BRICS members on January 1, 2024, joining Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Guardians of common security
At Wednesday’s summit, Xi called on the BRICS members to build a BRICS for peace and act as guardians of common security.
He urged the BRICS countries to uphold the three principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting, and no provocation by any party to work for de-escalation of the Ukraine crisis as soon as possible.
In September, China, Brazil and other Global South countries launched the “Friends of Peace” platform on the Ukraine crisis during the 79th United Nations General Assembly to gather more voices of peace.
BRICS countries and Global South countries share similar positions on the Ukraine crisis, which is firmly standing on the side of peace, reconciliation, dialogue and solidarity, said Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui recently.
Xi on Wednesday also addressed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and conflicts in Lebanon and urged an immediate ceasefire, an end to the killing, and unremitting efforts toward a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution of the Palestinian question.
In November 2023, three months after its expansion decision, BRICS convened an extraordinary joint summit on the Gaza situation with leaders of invited members in a first-of-its-kind meeting for the group.
It marked “a good start” for greater BRICS cooperation following its enlargement, said Xi at the time, since the meeting coordinated the members’ positions and actions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that broke out on October 7, 2023.
Forerunners in reforming global governance
The Chinese president on Wednesday called for building a BRICS for justice and leading the reform of the global governance system, calling on BRICS members to conform to the general trend of the rise of the Global South and actively respond to the call of countries to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism.
He said that the group should advance the process of expanding membership and establishing partner countries and enhance the representation and voice of developing countries in global governance.
More than 30 nations have either formally applied for or expressed interest in the membership of BRICS, and many other developing countries are seeking deeper cooperation with the group.
Citing the urgency of reforming the international financial architecture, Xi called for strengthening the New Development Bank (NDB) and urged BRICS countries to take the lead in promoting a better alignment of the international financial system with the changing dynamics of the global economy.
“Measured by GDP, the BRICS countries have already surpassed the G7 in importance,” Dilma Rousseff, president of the NDB, told media recently, referring to the seven largest advanced economies in the world.
A flagship project of BRICS cooperation and the first multilateral development bank established by emerging economies and developing countries, the NDB was jointly established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in 2014 and expanded its membership in 2021 to include Bangladesh, the UAE, Uruguay and Egypt.
The bank’s membership expansion will enhance its role as a platform for cooperation among Global South countries and contribute to building an international financial architecture featuring multilateralism and multipolarity, Rousseff said.