On October 23, 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, where he delivered an important speech.
This year marks the start of the “Greater BRICS Cooperation,” with this summit being the first meeting since the membership expansion. In his speech, Xi put forward five proposals: establishing a “Peaceful BRICS,” “Innovative BRICS,” “Green BRICS,” “Just BRICS,” and “People-to-people Exchanges BRICS,” announcing several concrete projects and cooperation plans that have drawn widespread attention.
Scholars interviewed expressed that these five proposals align with the grand trend of history and seize the opportunities of the times. They reflect the collective desire of BRICS countries for unity, stability, and development, while also charting a path and injecting momentum for high-quality development in the “Greater BRICS Cooperation.”
“Overall, the five suggestions will further advance the ‘Greater BRICS Cooperation’ under the framework of the ‘three-engine’ approach: political security, economic and financial cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges,” said Wang Lei, Director of the BRICS Cooperation Research Center at Beijing Normal University.
“The proposals from China are in line with the direction for future sustainable development,” noted Wang Youming, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. He noted that these suggestions and practical measures are feasible and will help ‘relaunch’ BRICS cooperation, having a positive influence on guiding global governance reforms and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Peace is a prerequisite for development. Currently, as the world enters a new period of turbulence and change, from convening the special BRICS leaders’ video summit on the Palestinian-Israeli issue to China and Brazil jointly issuing a consensus on the political resolution of the Ukraine crisis, BRICS countries have made unremitting efforts to steer the world back towards peaceful development.
In this context, the building of a “Peaceful BRICS” was prioritized among the five proposals. Xi emphasized that BRICS countries should “uphold peace and strive for common security,” explicitly advocating for efforts to ease the situation in Ukraine and to promote comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
“Only by being guardians and practitioners of common security can human society achieve collective development in a world fraught with overlapping turmoil,” Wang Lei stated, underscoring that constructing a “Peaceful BRICS” hinges on adhering to a security concept that is common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable, paving a way for universal security.
Practical cooperation is the cornerstone of BRICS collaboration and a central theme in China’s efforts to advance partnerships among BRICS countries. Data indicates that following BRICS’ expansion, China’s trade with other BRICS countries reached 4.62 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of this year, a 5.1% year-on-year increase.
Innovation drives development, and green defines the era. Both represent the frontiers of cooperative development. At this summit, President Xi Jinping proposed building an “Innovative BRICS” and a “Green BRICS,” resonating with many. A scholar from South Africa remarked that this initiative would help BRICS countries become a significant force in supporting sustainable development.
Wang Youming noted that China has extensive practical experience in cultivating new quality productive forces and promoting green and low-carbon transformation. Working with partners to enhance the “green content” of cooperation and the “gold content” of development is integral to promoting the high-quality development of “Greater BRICS Cooperation.”
China also emphasizes strengthening people-to-people exchanges to solidify the public support foundation for BRICS cooperation. From implementing the BRICS digital education capacity-building initiative, establishing 10 overseas learning centers in BRICS countries over the next five years, to providing training opportunities for 1,000 educational administrators, teachers and students …, a series of measures announced by Xi to build a “people-to-people exchanges BRICS” have been widely welcomed.
“As an important platform for solidarity and cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries, the BRICS cooperation mechanism itself represents the forward direction of world multipolarity and economic globalization. At this meeting themed “Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security,” Xi highlighted the need to “build a ‘Just BRICS’ and take a leading role in global economic governance reform.”
“In today’s world, while the balance of international forces has undergone profound changes, the reform of the global governance system has long been lagging behind and remains imbalanced,” said Wang Lei. BRICS countries should lead the global governance system reform with the concepts of fairness, justice, openness, and inclusiveness.
A case in point is the New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral financial institution established by BRICS. The bank has approved over 100 projects, amounting to more than $34 billion, playing a crucial role in maintaining high-level financial security. During the summit, the participating leaders proposed developing it into a new type of multilateral development bank for the 21st century, promoting the reform of the current international economic and financial architecture.
The summit also achieved significant progress in adapting to the rising momentum of the “Global South” and enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries in global governance by announcing the establishment of BRICS partner countries.
Wang Youming noted that this once again proves that the BRICS cooperation mechanism is not an exclusive “small circle,” but rather an open and inclusive platform, serving as the main channel for strengthening solidarity and cooperation among the “Global South.”
“The institutional design of BRICS partner countries has far-reaching significance,” said Wang Lei, underscoring that it helps lay the foundation at the mechanistic level for the high-quality development of “Greater BRICS Cooperation,” fostering solidarity and cooperation between BRICS countries and “Global South” countries. This, in turn, adds more BRICS strength to the effort of building a community with a shared future for all humanity.