Xiamen set to usher in next 'golden decade' for BRICS

Leaders of BRICS countries pose for group photos after the ninth BRICS summit in the eastern city of Xiamen, Fujian province, Sept 4, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

BRICS should promote trade liberalization and an open world economy, and its member states - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - must explore ways to innovate economically.

This, in gist, was the message of President Xi Jinping at the opening of the Business Forum of the three-day 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on Sunday.

And true to the theme, "A Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future", the leaders of the five member states attending the summit are committed to further strengthening their cooperation mechanism and making greater efforts to improve global governance.

The five emerging economies will hold in-depth discussions on issues of common concern, including the world economy, global governance, international and regional issues, and national security and development.

The rest of the world is expected to pay close attention to the resolutions of the BRICS leaders to improve their decade-old mechanism, strengthen their cooperation, and better coordinate their development strategies on regional and international issues, because they are aimed at building a better world.

That the BRICS economies contributed more than half of global economic growth, however, is not enough. They should seize the opportunities offered by such global challenges as a sluggish world economic recovery and the trend of anti-globalization in some economies, and use their position as the world economy's strongest engine, to build a fairer global financial and trade system.

As Xi said, the development trend of BRICS remains unchanged despite the challenges its member states are facing, because one of the strongest aspects of BRICS is its global vision, meaning it is committed to bringing benefits to the people in not only the five countries but also the rest of the world.

The BRICS' spirit of openness, solidarity, equality, mutual understanding, inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation marks a major departure from the West-led international relations of zero-sum game, and better reflects a multilateral world. As such, it will help build a more balanced and inclusive global economy.

Due to their different political and cultural backgrounds, the cooperation among BRICS members has not always been smooth. But, like Xi said, as long as they put greater faith in cooperation and keep building mutual trust, the road paved by BRICS can only strengthen their coordination and partnerships.

The Xiamen summit, therefore, looks set to usher in another "golden decade" for BRICS.