Brics summit expected to strengthen economic ties

AS THE 2017 Brics summit draws closer, young people from Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa who study or work here are expecting the summit to promote enhanced co-operation in finance, trade, education, and beyond between Brics countries.

The 9th annual summit of the bloc, scheduled for September 3 to 5 in Xiamen City in southeast China’s Fujian province, is expected to provide more opportunities for emerging economies and injecting impetus into economic globalisation.

Anait Agadzhanian from Russia, who majors in finance, will graduate from Xiamen University this year. She plans to find a job in China, because she thinks she has more opportunities here.

Agadzhanian said she believes the long-time good relationship between China and Russia will reach a new level within the Brics framework, in areas such as financial co-operation.

The two countries have done some work on the integration of banks within the Brics framework and help to raise funds for developing countries, she noted, adding a lot more needs to be done.

“That will present lots of opportunities for me particularly,” she said, noting that she hopes to facilitate co-operation between Chinese and Russian banks and governmental organisations with her bilingual skills.

Brazilian businessman Marcos Caldeira came to Xiamen four years ago to learn Mandarin. He soon started his own business for exporting Chinese stone products to South America.

Caldeira imports processed marble products from Xiamen and sells them to Brazil and other markets. He has seen rapid growth of his business since 2015, with its export value exceeding $10 million (R130m) in 2016.

Kanika Rupani from India said she thinks relations between India and China will improve with the summit.

South African Wilma Hugo, 27, is studying Chinese in Xiamen. Her plan after graduation is to go back to SA and become a Chinese language teacher.