BRICS to drive global growth against shared challenges

The upcoming BRICS Summit in Xiamen will be a platform to discuss ways of further driving growth and cooperation against domestic woes and shared global challenges, experts said on Aug. 28.

Under the theme "BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future," the bloc is expected to expand its "circle of friends" and strengthen partnership to make the world open wider, safer and full of cooperative spirit against global uncertainties, Zhang Yansheng, chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said.

Zhang said he hoped the summit meeting will facilitate cooperation and bring forth new approaches for global governance amid the rising wave of deglobalization, trade protectionism, populism, unilateralism, and slowing growth.

With South Africa, Brazil and Russia showing signs of anemic growth due to various domestic problems, some critics doubt whether BRICS is gradually losing its "luster" and question the bloc's viability in fostering cooperation.

The bloc, unlike other international mechanisms such as the G8 and non-aligned movement which have been around for decades, is still in its early stage of development as it explores approaches for common development and cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries, Zhang said.

"Under the mechanism, China and India are positioned to work with other resource- and commodity goods-reliant countries to solve their structural problems and achieve diversified growth," he said. "And at the same time, the two need to avoid low-income and middle-income gaps as well as address frictions for peace and development."

BRICS is now contributing 50 percent of the world's economic growth.

During the past 10 years, the five BRICS members have doubled their GDP weighting to 23 percent of the world's total.

"If we see it from a dynamic perspective, the BRICS countries will play an even bigger role in global growth," Zhang Jianping, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said.

With ever-growing industrial capacity cooperation as well as vast investment potential, accompanied by fairly comprehensive cooperation mechanisms through summit meetings, ministerial-level meetings and various working groups, BRICS will not lose its luster but shine more brightly, he said.

BRICS leaders will meet in China's southeastern coastal city of Xiamen in early September for the 9th BRICS Summit. Items on the summit's agenda include deepening cooperation, enhancing global governance, promoting people-to-people exchange and fostering broader partnership. Since 2009, BRICS summits have been held annually. The nations' foreign, finance and security ministers also meet regularly.

According to a report issued by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, the key to sustainable development of emerging economies, notably BRICS, is to carry out structural reform, boost innovation, infrastructure, urbanization and a pro-business environment as well as enhance macro policy coordination through multilateral mechanisms like BRICS.