(ZHANG CHENGLIANG / CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING – BRICS countries have pledged to deepen cooperation in fields including digital economy, trade, investment and sustainable development, supply chain and multilateral trade mechanisms, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

The pledge came at the 12th meeting of BRICS economic and trade ministers, held Thursday via video link.

The ministers approved a joint communique and agreed on several proposals and frameworks in these relevant fields to make preparations for the 14th BRICS summit.

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Commerce Minister Wang Wentao presided over the meeting, which was attended by BRICS economic and trade ministers and representatives of relevant international organizations via video link.

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BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.