Xi urges 'BRICS Plus' to pursue common security, development and harmony

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the “BRICS Plus” leaders' dialogue in Kazan, Russia, October 24, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on “BRICS Plus” countries to work for common security, common development and harmony among civilizations.

Xi made the remarks during a speech at the BRICS Plus Leaders' Dialogue.

Noting that the collective rise of the South is a distinctive feature of the great transformation across the world, Xi said the South's joint march toward modernization is monumental in world history and unprecedented in human civilization.

At the same time, peace and development still face serious challenges and the path to prosperity for countries in the South will not be simple, he stressed, urging BRICS Plus countries to use wisdom and collective strength and to assume their responsibility in building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Xi said “BRICS Plus” countries should uphold peace and strive for common security, unite to form a stabilizing force for peace, strengthen global security governance, and explore solutions to deal with both the symptoms and roots of hot problems.

“BRICS Plus” cooperation has accelerated the transformation and improvement of the existing world order by providing multiple alternatives. The expansion of BRICS will actually contribute to the cohesion of consensus among Southern countries in a complex international context, Chinese experts said.

President Xi has chaired or participated in BRICS summits for 12 consecutive years, promoted the establishment of the New Development Bank, and introduced the “BRICS Plus” cooperation format and a number of important proposals and initiatives, giving an important boost to BRICS cooperation. , said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Thursday.

Through this summit, China is ready to work with other BRICS countries to open a new horizon in the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation and make BRICS contributions to the construction of a of destiny for humanity, said Mr. Lin.

BRICS leaders issued a joint statement covering a wide range of issues from United Nations (UN) reform to ongoing global conflicts, following the association's summit in Kazan on Wednesday.

New centers of power, political decision-making and economic growth are emerging around the world, BRICS countries said in the Kazan Declaration on Wednesday.

BRICS countries also called for reform of the Bretton Woods system to improve the representation of emerging markets and developing countries in the Kazan Declaration, according to Xinhua.

In the process of collective rise of the Global South, BRICS Plus countries have played a role in introducing alternatives to the tools that maintain the Western-dominated international order, said Cui Heng, a researcher at the China National Institute for SCO, based in Shanghai. International exchanges and judicial cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Many developing countries are worried about what is happening in the world, whether it is economic or security issues, that is why they came here to Kazan for the summit, that is why countries The South want to follow BRICS, Lidia Zhelamkova, a Russian journalist, said at the press conference. World Times.

BRICS Plus has played a very important role in promoting consensus among Southern countries and contributed positively to their economic development, said Song Wei, professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of China. Foreign Affairs of Beijing, to the Global Times.

Reaching Consensus

In recent years, doubts have also emerged over whether further BRICS expansion would affect the unity of the organization and the process of reaching consensus. Al Jazeera published an opinion piece last year arguing that integrating new members too quickly could make BRICS incoherent, weakening rather than strengthening the bloc.

BRICS Africa Channel reporter Shadrack Andile said the essence of promoting cooperation between BRICS and the Global South is that countries reach consensus and new members will not dilute its unity. “Bringing more countries into BRICS means leaving no one behind. It's not about competing, it's about collaborating for a better world.”

BRICS has sent a clear message: the status quo in global governance is no longer acceptable to the majority of the world's population. Persistent economic and political disparities will become increasingly untenable, pushing more countries to seek alternative alliances. The success of BRICS initiatives, such as the New Development Bank, strengthens the appeal of the BRICS model, Ahmed Moustafa, director of the Asian Center for Studies and Translation in Egypt, told the Global Times.

In the near future, the BRICS mechanism will become a formidable force, influencing the decisions of established global institutions. BRICS' growing membership and influence will send a powerful message that the future of global governance lies in collaborative, inclusive and equitable models, Moustafa said.