Xi hails BRICS' importance in fostering emerging markets' cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in New Delhi on Saturday that the BRICS cooperation mechanism has become the world's most influential platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries.

Addressing Session I of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Xi noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of BRICS cooperation, saying that over the past two decades, the BRICS cooperation mechanism has continued to grow and expand and has demonstrated remarkable vitality and dynamism.

Xi said it has been 20 years of self-reliance and self-strengthening, adding that BRICS countries have actively explored development paths suited to their own national conditions, setting an example of self-strengthening through unity among emerging markets and developing countries.

This has also been 20 years of standing together through thick and thin, Xi noted.

BRICS countries, Xi said, have worked together to tackle challenges ranging from the global financial crisis and the COVID pandemic to climate change.

The group has remained steadfast in safeguarding the common interests of the Global South while providing the world with stability and positive momentum, he said.

Xi also hailed the past 20 years of BRICS cooperation as fruitful, saying that BRICS have undergone a historic expansion, established a comprehensive, multifaceted framework for cooperation and ushered in a new stage of high-quality development for greater BRICS cooperation.

Xi stressed that the world is undergoing accelerated transformation unseen in a century, the Global South is rapidly growing in strength, and the trend toward a multipolar world is unstoppable.

Meanwhile, countercurrents of unilateralism and power politics are surging, multilateralism and the international order are coming under strain, and deficits in peace, development, security and governance continue to widen, he added.

He said that BRICS countries should firmly stand on the right side of history , strive to be a pioneer of the times, steer the international order toward greater justice and equity, and work together to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

Xi called on BRICS to pioneer in advancing innovation-driven development.

BRICS countries, he said, should firmly seize the initiative, strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, encourage open-source development, openness, cooperation and sharing, and push practical cooperation into new areas and to new heights.

BRICS countries are welcome to actively participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, he said.