Political parties, think tanks, urged to share wisdom to benefit all members

Political parties, think tanks and civil organizations in the five member nations of BRICS should share their wisdom with one another and take the lead role in building a more inclusive platform that benefits all sides, a senior leader of the Communist Party of China said on Sunday.

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made his comments when addressing the BRICS Political Parties, Think-Tanks and Civil Society Organizations Forum held at Fuzhou, Fujian province.

BRICS comprises five major developing countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Sunday’s forum, aimed at boosting stronger BRICS cooperation by offering proposals for development, is a preparatory event ahead of the ninth BRICS Leaders Meeting scheduled in Xiamen, Fujian province, in September.

The 10-year-old group, which added South Africa in 2010, has become a key platform of cooperation for emerging markets and developing countries, as well as an important driver for boosting global economic growth and perfecting global governance, Liu said.

This was the first time representatives from political parties, think tanks and civil society organizations from member countries gathered together at preparatory forums and meetings under the BRICS framework. Previous related events have gathered academics and civil groups only, said Luan Jianzhang, director-general of the research office of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, who organized this year’s forum.

“We came to the idea of bringing political parties into the forum because policy makers need suggestions from professionals and grounded feedback from civil groups,” he said.

He said as information technology development is robust and information travels fast, it is important for BRICS to take innovative steps in exploring new avenues of cooperation.

Liu Yong, chief economist of the China Development Bank, who attended the forum, said financial innovation was one key topic under think tank discussion in this year’s forum that aims to make financing under the BRICS framework more efficient.

Marcos Degaut, deputy special secretary of strategic affairs with Brazil’s presidential office, said bringing political parties into the dialogue will be of great help in perfecting the BRICS framework under the new international situation.

He said trends like rising protectionism may pose challenges to the BRICS dialogue mechanism, which makes communication between political parties and think tanks even more important.

The forum drew over 400 participants from BRICS members and other developing countries.