Finding common ground crucial to BRICS
Editor’s Note:
The 9th BRICS Summit is being held in Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, from Sunday to Tuesday. China has proposed the “BRICS Plus” idea to enhance cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries through the BRICS platform. What is the significance of the BRICS Plus? How can BRICS countries deal with the problems facing them? What role should China and Russia play in BRICS? Global Times reporter Yang Chuchu has collected three expert opinions on these issues from a forum of the Sputnik news agency held on Tuesday last week.
Yaroslav Lissovolik, expert with the Russian International Affairs Council
By hosting the BRICS Xiamen Summit, China is holding a dialogue between emerging markets and developing countries. China, for the first time, has invited leaders from Egypt, Guinea, Mexico, Tajikistan and Thailand to attend the summit and help shape the BRICS cooperation forum.
BRICS Plus is an innovative and inclusive concept, which is likely to attract more countries to participate in the summit.
More than this, BRICS Plus will also enhance the South-South cooperation so as to better solve the imbalance of economic development among different countries.
In addition, the BRICS Plus concept will help developing countries have a bigger say in global governance. It also reflects China’s wisdom and sense of responsibility, and shows that China is willing to share its experience with other countries.
He Wenping, research fellow at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Many unexpected political events took place last year, such as Britain’s exit from the European Union and the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election. These phenomena demonstrate a tendency toward rising conservatism and antiglobalization. Recently the North Korean nuclear issue and the just settled Sino-Indian standoff have invoked global worries. Set against this backdrop, BRICS countries should come together and make their voices heard on the international stage, while demonstrating their commitment to global economic development and world peace.
Within the BRICS framework, there are some problems that need to be resolved.
Lately, the economic outlook for member countries such as South Africa, Brazil and Russia are not looking optimistic.
Besides, since other BRICS nations also employ similar economic models, they too will likely face competition when expanding their markets globally. With this in mind, these countries need to strengthen their communication networks and enhance dialogue.
Liu Zhiqin, senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China
China should pay a great deal of attention to its cooperation with Russia within the BRICS mechanism. Cooperation between China and Russia is of the greatest significance not only to trade between the two countries, but also fundamental to the future of the other BRICS member nations. If China and Russia fail to foster unity and cohesiveness, it could result in the BRICS bloc eventually falling apart. Recently, BRICS nations have been facing new problems. For example, sanctions on Russia by the West have continued to restrict its development, while at the same time Brazil’s economy remains in the doldrums. Some Western countries doubt whether the BRICS bloc can survive this crisis. At this critical moment, unity between Russia and China is a matter of paramount importance. It is increasingly clear that BRICS members and related countries should enhance their levels of cooperation and voice their objections to blind sanctions. As for BRICS countries, differences of opinion on aspects relating to economic, trade and judicial structures harm cooperation. How to deal with these differences and find common ground will be crucial to the development of member countries and to the bloc as a whole. For the prosperity of the global economy, it is suggested that a RACE mechanism, which includes Russia, America, China and Europe, should be established. The four economies are the leading powers in the global economy, and their enhanced cooperation could mean a lot to the world.