Xi to champion unity, growth at summit

BRICS events to focus on partnership, fostering new era of global development

Leading emerging markets and developing countries will inject more stability and wisdom into the turbulent global situation as President Xi Jinping is scheduled to address or chair, in a virtual format, three key events related to the upcoming 14th BRICS Summit, observers said.

Next week, Xi will attend the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, host the 14th BRICS Summit and chair the High-level Dialogue on Global Development from Wednesday to Friday, respectively, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

The BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa accounts for roughly 40 percent of the world's population and 24 percent of global GDP.

On Thursday, the BRICS Summit will be held under the theme of "Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development".

On Friday, the high-level dialogue will be held under the theme of "Foster a Global Development Partnership for the New Era to Jointly Implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

Hu Biliang, an economics professor and executive dean of the Belt and Road School at Beijing Normal University, said the events' themes highlight four key points which are high on the agenda this year－global development, fulfilling the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, high-quality BRICS cooperation and boosting unity among a greater number of developing countries.

The themes of the meetings also echo the Global Development Initiative, which was first put forward by the Chinese president last year, Hu noted.

"This shows China's emphasis on global development and the Chinese philosophy that economic development lays the foundation for progress in other fields for emerging markets and developing countries. Prioritizing global development at the upcoming summit will help promote the stability of the global economy and growth," Hu said.

Observers noted that the implementation of the UN agenda is being highlighted at a time in which the world is witnessing major challenges amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, rising unilateralism and the worsening global economic downturn.

Feng Zhongping, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, noted that in recent years, some Western countries have shown a greater inclination to base global cooperation on ideology.

"In this sense, the BRICS nations are expected to further support global peace and prosperity as promoted by the United Nations and work on reducing the risk of the international community falling into a new divide," Feng said.

"At the upcoming summit, the BRICS nations should further develop the grouping's mission, strengthen their communication and coordination, effectively consolidate their consensus and speak louder at global venues on behalf of emerging economies," Feng added.

BRICS leaders and leaders of relevant emerging markets and developing countries will attend Friday's high-level dialogue, according to Hua.

"BRICS-Plus cooperation is advancing collaboration and interactions among a growing number of countries, which will not only make the pie for win-win cooperation even bigger, but also reinforce the world's push for peace, progress and development," said Wang Lei, director of the research center for BRICS cooperation at Beijing Normal University.

"Since its founding 16 years ago, the BRICS mechanism has been upgraded from a meeting of foreign ministers to an annual gathering of leaders, and it has advanced pragmatic cooperation in various fields and established institutions such as the New Development Bank," Wang said.

Xi's engagement in the upcoming events will further display the effectiveness and important role of head-of-state diplomacy, and the Chinese leader has been paying great attention to and effectively promoting BRICS cooperation, Wang noted.

Earlier this year, the BRICS nations expressed their confidence and readiness to further champion multilateralism and perfect the global governance system, demonstrating their strong sense of duty, Wang added.