China moots BRICS free trade area ahead of Goa summit

A free trade area will help remove barriers, advance trade and liberalise investments among member nations

Days ahead of the BRICS Summit scheduled at Goa in the upcoming week, China mooted a free trade area for the five-member-bloc of emerging countries on October 9, saying that such a move would constitute a "significant form of cooperation".

By setting up a free trade area, BRICS countries would be able to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers, advance trade and liberalise investments among member nations, China's spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOC),Shen Danyang, told a press briefing.

China has not formally raised the issue for an upcoming BRICS meeting, but many experts have proposed a free trade area, he was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

A free trade area would help BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- achieve mutual benefit and development and promote South-South cooperation on a global scale, Shen said.

Such a move would constitute "significant form of cooperation", he said.

BRICS trade ministers will meet at New Delhi this week to discuss world economic trends and their influence on BRICS trade and investment, followed by the Goa summit that is schduled to take place on October 15 and 16.

The meeting is expected to deepen cooperation in areas including intellectual property rights, trade promotion and small businesses, Shen said.

BRICS bloc has made steady progress establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).

TheNDB is established with an initial subscribed capital of USD 50 billion with total paid-in capital of USD 10 billion.

The founding members of the NDB have already brought in capital of USD one billion as initial contribution.