Leaders of the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — take part in the summit, which was hosted by India this year. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

President Xi Jinping’s speech calling on nations in the BRICS grouping to strengthen cooperation on public health, advance multilateralism and address common challenges has been hailed by global experts.

In his speech during the virtual BRICS summit on Sept 9, Xi put forward five proposals to foster practical cooperation between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the top developing economies which constitute the BRICS bloc. 

The five proposals entail a strengthening in the fields of public health cooperation, in the spirit of solidarity; international cooperation on vaccines, in the spirit of equitable access for all; economic cooperation, in the spirit of mutual benefit; political and security cooperation, in the spirit of fairness and justice; and people-to-people exchanges, for mutual learning.

These proposals will inject impetus into the further development of practical BRICS cooperation in the next stage, said Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business.

Since its establishment, the BRICS mechanism has always adhered to the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, all of which are important for the practice of multilateralism, said Lins.

He said he hopes the BRICS countries will continue to strengthen cooperation in dealing with public health challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his address to the 13th BRICS Summit via video link from Beijing, Xi said that China will donate an additional 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to developing countries this year on top of its US$100 million donation to the COVAX global vaccine initiative to contribute further to global anti-pandemic cooperation.

China has so far provided more than 1 billion doses of finished and bulk vaccines to over 100 countries and international organizations, and it will strive to provide a total of 2 billion doses by the end of this year, he said.

Noting that COVID-19 is still raging globally, and that the road to global recovery remains bumpy and that the international order is undergoing profound and complex changes, Xi called on the BRICS countries to work together to meet common challenges.

He underlined the need to promote global solidarity against COVID-19, uphold a science-based approach to tracing its origins, oppose politicization and stigmatization, and boost the research, production and equitable distribution of vaccines as a global public good.

“We need to pursue practical cooperation on vaccines, including joint research and production and mutual recognition of standards, and to facilitate the early launch of the BRICS Vaccine R&D Center in a virtual format,” Xi said.

Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, said, “Beyond doubt China has won countless hearts and minds through its magnanimous COVID-19 vaccine donation as well as help that had already seen tens of millions of vaccines flow into developing countries.”

He noted that Pakistan has been a major beneficiary of this generosity.

Gul said that Xi’s focus on public health cooperation, as well as on strengthening economic cooperation, is very much in sync with the demands of developing countries like Pakistan and many other South Asian and African countries. 

To maintain steady global recovery, Xi, in his speech, called for promoting openness and innovation-driven growth and pushing for economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all.

BRICS countries should strengthen economic cooperation in the spirit of mutual benefit, Xi said, adding that they need to earnestly implement the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2025, and expand cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, technology and innovation, and green and low-carbon development.

“China proposes to host a BRICS high-level meeting on climate change and a BRICS forum on big data for sustainable development,” he said.

Calling for promoting the practice of true multilateralism, Xi urged BRICS countries to consolidate their strategic partnership, support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests, and jointly safeguard their sovereignty, security and development interests.

“We need to make good use of BRICS mechanisms, such as the meeting of foreign ministers and the meeting of high representatives for security, better coordinate our position on major international and regional issues, and to send out an even bigger, collective voice of BRICS countries,” he said.

Xi also called for strengthening people-to-people exchanges among the five countries, saying that China will hold a series of activities for this purpose.

Next year, China will host the 14th BRICS Summit, and the country looks forward to working with its BRICS partners to comprehensively deepen cooperation in various fields and build an even closer and more pragmatic partnership to cope with common challenges, Xi said.

The Sept 9 summit was hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and saw the participation of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The BRICS leaders adopted the “New Delhi Declaration”, in which the five countries reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing intra-BRICS cooperation based on political and security exchanges, economic and financial exchanges, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

The leaders vowed to oppose unilateralism and hegemony as well as politicizing the tracing of the origins of the pandemic, and they reiterated their commitment to strengthening communication and coordination on major international and regional issues, jointly coping with climate change and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

They also expressed support for China in hosting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

In his address, Modi noted that BRICS has made many achievements in the last decade and a half. “Today, we are an influential voice for emerging economies of the world,” he said, adding, “We need to ensure that BRICS is more productive in the next 15 years.”

Brazil’s Bolsorano praised the partnership of BRICS nations in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Putin, on his part, said BRICS cooperation is in demand as situations around the world remain “quite turbulent”. He noted that the withdrawal of forces of the United States and its allies from Afghanistan has led to a new crisis.

South African leader Ramaphosa said BRICS cooperation has been oriented toward concrete responses to the pandemic since last year.

“As the BRICS countries, we must continue to safeguard people’s lives and livelihoods, support global economic recovery and enhance the resilience of all our public systems,” Ramaphosa said.

President Xi’s speech showed China is honoring its responsibilities as a major global player by promoting international cooperation to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and taking practical measures to ensure accessible and affordable vaccines, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said.

At a time when the world is faced with challenges not seen in a century, Xi’s participation in the BRICS meeting helped draw a blueprint for cooperation and gave direction for global efforts to fight the virus and promote economic recovery, Ma said at a news briefing on Sept 9 after Xi addressed the BRICS summit.

Speaking of Xi’s approach of promoting common development, Ma said it not only gave direction for the world to realize stronger, greener and healthier development after the pandemic, but also boosted the confidence of all countries, especially emerging economies and developing nations, to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Alexei Maslov, acting director of the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said coordinated efforts of the BRICS countries can play a very significant role in accelerating the global economic recovery amid the pandemic.

“China, obviously, will become the driving force behind the revival of the global economy,” he said.

Mustafa Hyder Sayed, executive director of the Pakistan-China Institute, a Pakistan-based think tank, noted that Xi’s speech reiterated that the only way forward for emerging markets and developed countries alike is international cooperation, be it on the economy, public health governance, COVID-19 or other issues.

Xi’s approach is that of multilateralism, of working together collectively, of a win-win partnership, of a partnership and strategy in which where there are collective gains, Sayed noted. 

This approach “is the healing touch that the world needs, to move forward in the revival of economies that have been hit hard” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Karori Singh, professor and emeritus fellow at the University of Rajasthan in India, expressed satisfaction that BRICS countries have enhanced strategic communications and political trust in the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and equity.

He said he was glad that Xi has reiterated China’s interest in working with BRICS partners to deepen cooperation in all areas and build closer and more results-oriented partnerships to meet common challenges and create a better future.

Ren Qi in Moscow, Xinhua and agencies contributed to the story.

Contact the writers at vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com