Online Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO. — Leaders of countries gathering in the Brazilian capital this week for the 17th BRICS Summit, reiterated their commitments to reforming and improving global governance by expanding Global South cooperation.
The meeting adopted the Rio de Janeiro Declaration, which calls for strengthening multilateralism and reforming global governance, promoting peace, security and international stability, as well as deepening international economic, trade and financial cooperation.
Addressing the summit’s plenary session themed “Peace and Security and Reform of Global Governance” on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang called on BRICS countries to strive to become pioneers in advancing the reform of global governance, safeguard world peace and tranquility, and boost the peaceful settlement of disputes.
In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the global governance vision of extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, offering China’s solution to the global governance challenge.
Ten years on, the vision has gained growing global influence as transformations unseen in a century are accelerating in the world.
“The world has entered a new phase of major turbulent changes, and the international order is undergoing a significant reorganization. Following its expansion, the BRICS mechanism will unite efforts to promote common development, defend multilateralism and contribute more to building a more equitable global governance system,” said Boris Guseletov, a senior researcher at the Institute of European Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Li also called for commitment to building an open world economy and stressed the importance of opposing unilateralism and protectionism when addressing the plenary sessions.
The Chinese premier noted that the current international economic and trade order, along with the multilateral trading system, is facing severe challenges, and the global economic recovery remains arduous.
Greater BRICS cooperation must stay true to its founding purpose, meet the needs of the times, uphold and practice multilateralism, promote the establishment of an equitable and open international economic and trade order, pool efforts in the Global South, and make greater contributions to global stability and development, he said.
Amid rising global trade tensions, the 17th BRICS Summit toughened the bloc’s key role in promoting fairer economic practices, said Balew Demissie, a researcher with the Ethiopian Policy Studies Institute. BRICS offers a unified platform that supports multilateral trade, promotes intra-bloc commerce and facilitates the use of local currencies, thus reducing reliance on limited markets, he added.
The leaders attending the plenary sessions agreed that the BRICS cooperation mechanism has been growing stronger and more representative, with its international influence rising steadily. It has provided an important platform for Global South countries to defend their right to development, uphold international fairness and justice, and participate in the reform of the global governance system, they said.
During talks with other leaders on the sidelines of the summit, the Chinese premier voiced China’s readiness to push for a greater role of the Global South in improving global governance.
When meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a day before the summit, Li said China is willing to enhance communication and coordination with Brazil within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, BRICS and the G20, work in unity with developing countries to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and provide more certainty and stability for the world. — Xinhua
