Xi’s Suggestions at Summit Lauded by Experts
Chen Weihua and Jan Yumul / China Daily

BRUSSELS/HONG KONG (October 25, 2024) — President Xi Jinping’s suggestions for the future progress of BRICS have been lauded by global experts for their focus on peace, multilateralism and sustainable development.

In his speech delivered on Wednesday at the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia, Xi put forward five suggestions, calling on member countries to build a BRICS that is committed to peace, innovation, green development, justice and closer people-to-people exchanges.

He said that China is willing to work with other BRICS countries to open a new horizon in the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Jeffrey Sachs, a professor of economics and director of Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Development in the United States, said that Xi’s statement gives great hope to the world.

“He makes clear that the fundamental purposes of the BRICS are peace, multilateralism, sustainable development, innovation, justice, reform of global institutions and harmonious coexistence … through deepened cultural understanding and people-to-people exchanges,” Sachs said.

BRICS will help start a new era of multipolarity and multilateralism, adhering to the purposes of the United Nations Charter and guided by China’s Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which promote mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual nonaggression, noninterference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence, he added.

Jasna Plevnik, president of the think tank Geoeconomic Forum Croatia, said that President Xi’s speech sheds bright new light on BRICS’ future strategic direction, featuring it as a greater, progressive, secure and green family of developing countries.

Rasha Al Joundy, a senior researcher at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre, said that Xi presented a just and firm position amid nonstop escalation of tensions in many parts of the world.

In his speech, Xi urged BRICS countries to strive for swift de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine and promote an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. For Middle Eastern countries, seeking an end to ongoing conflicts is pivotal, said Al Joundy.

On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China can be a trusted partner for de-escalation and settlement, she said, adding that calling for building a BRICS that is committed to peace is an important and powerful message.

Plevnik, from the Croatian think tank, said that no statesman has been as preoccupied as Xi with the question of how to help people live better lives and in peace globally.

“In his speech, he asked the same of BRICS — to focus on improving the everyday lives of people through new forms of cooperation, institutions, new global and regional initiatives, and high-quality development policies,” Plevnik said.

China knows that only the rise of economic, technological and innovative power and wealth can enable Global South countries to influence and modernize the structure of world politics, she added.

Yang Ran in Beijing contributed to this story.

Full Text: Address by Chinese President
Xi Jinping at 16th BRICS Summit
“Embracing a Broader View and Cutting Through the Fog of Challenges to Advance High-Quality Development of Greater BRICS Cooperation”
Statement by H.E. Xi Jinping