BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the BRICS countries to jointly defend multilateralism and the multilateral trading system as he attended a virtual BRICS Summit in Beijing on Monday.
“At this critical juncture, BRICS countries, standing at the forefront of the Global South, should act on the BRICS Spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, jointly defend multilateralism and the multilateral trading system, advance greater BRICS cooperation, and build a community with a shared future for humanity,” Xi said, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Xi called on the BRICS countries to uphold multilateralism to defend international fairness and justice.
He said BRICS countries should uphold openness and win-win cooperation to safeguard the international economic and trade order.
BRICS countries should uphold solidarity and cooperation to foster synergy for common development, Xi added, per Xinhua.
The summit was chaired by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with participants including Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, as well as representatives from India and Ethiopia.
The BRICS cooperation mechanism is an important platform for solidarity and cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries. In the face of rising unilateralism and protectionism, BRICS countries jointly safeguard multilateralism, defend fairness and justice, promote common development, and become a positive and stable force for good in international affairs, Lin Jian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during a press conference on Monday.
Some Chinese observers pointed out that this virtual event comes at a moment when cooperation is deepening and accelerating within the group, and holding the meeting in this format carries both innovative and practical significance.
The timing is also closely tied to the 80th anniversary of the United Nations (UN), with 80th session of the UN General Assembly scheduled in September.
Against this backdrop, BRICS leaders are expected to coordinate positions and reach consensus on supporting multilateralism and reaffirming the UN’s central role in the global system, some observers said.
“The virtual meeting will help anchor the overall direction of BRICS, enabling the group to produce more practical outcomes and offer solutions to major global political, economic, and security issues representing the Global South,” Wang Lei, director of the BRICS Cooperation Research Center at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday.
China plays a pivotal role in BRICS cooperation, not only guiding its direction but also advancing the mechanism by providing public goods and ideas to support the development of BRICS countries, Wang Lei said.
“Looking ahead, China will continue to uphold its leadership role, contributing forward-looking ideas and proposals to BRICS and the wider Global South, driving cooperation into a new stage and promoting common development,” Wang Lei said. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
