Enhance cooperation to protect common interests: Xi Jinping to BRICS

BRICS countries should enhance solidarity, cooperation and safeguard common interests as they face growing uncertainties and instabilities in international situations, according to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who assumes the Presidency of the five-member bloc this year.

Facing growing uncertainties and instability in international affairs, BRICS countries need to enhance solidarity and safeguard common interests, Xi said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia President Vladimir Putin, South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President Michel Temer, official media reported.

"In accordance with an open, inclusive and win-win BRICS spirit, China will work with other BRICS countries to make the Xiamen summit a success and move forward BRICS cooperation to a new level," he said, state-run China Daily reported on Monday.

Briefing fellow BRICS leaders about China's blueprint for promoting cooperation among the member states during China's presidency of the bloc this year, Xi said Beijing will host the ninth BRICS leaders' summit in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeastern China's Fujian province in September this year.

The summit will focus on four aspects, deepening pragmatic cooperation for common development, enhancing global governance to jointly counter challenges, carrying out people- to-people exchanges to consolidate public support for cooperation and promoting mechanism-building to construct broader partnership, said Xi, also the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

Xi attended last year's summit in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in Goa under India's Presidency. The Presidency goes on rotation every year.

In the first decade of its existence, BRICS has moved forward on the economic front establishing BRICS bank called the New Development Bank (NDB), which was established with initial subscribed capital of USD 50 billion with total paid- up the capital of USD 10 billion.

The Shanghai-based bank headed by Indian banker K V Kamath has started disbursing loans for various green infrastructure projects in the five countries.

Xi's letter comes ahead of US President-elect Donal Trump taking over as President later this month amid apprehensions that he would pursue hardline US-centric policies which Beijing avers will affect the current order of globalisation benefitting the emerging economies.

China hopes cooperation among BRICS grouping will move forward to a new level during its 9th summit, Xi said.

Over the past decade, BRICS countries have made joint efforts to yield fruits in cooperating on politics, economy and people-to-people exchanges, the Chinese President said.

BRICS countries have also made great strides in their leaders' summits, which has injected new dynamism into their cooperation, he said.

"The BRICS cooperation, a model for cooperation among emerging markets and that among developing countries, has brought benefits to people of BRICS nations and made great contributions to boosting global economic growth, improving global governance and promoting the democratisation of international relations," he said.

In the second decade for BRICS cooperation starting this year, BRICS nations will make greater progress in their cooperation and play a bigger role in international affairs, Xi said.

The BRIC cooperative mechanism was established in 2006.

The first BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. South Africa was admitted by the other BRIC leaders in 2010, adding the "S" to the original grouping.

Eight BRICS summits have taken place so far.