The ninth BRICS -- an acronym for a grouping of five nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- concluded last Tuesday in Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province, with a positive note about building broad partnership with emerging markets and developing countries. This is considered positive at a time when the world has been passing through uncertainties of diverse sorts. Threats are looming large over the future of ruled-based global trade, pursuit of multilateralism, efforts to address climate change-related issues and many other matters of consequence. Indeed, profound and complicated changes are now taking place across the globe.
In this context, the 71-point Declaration of the just-concluded BRICS summit is obviously pro-active. This is quite so in view of the emphasis that the leaders of BRICS nations have put on pursuing equal-footed and flexible practices and initiatives among not only themselves but also non-BRICS countries. They have pledged themselves in Xiamen to energise their cooperation to boost development, enhance inter-country communication and coordination for improving global economic governance. This is purported to fostering a more just and equitable international economic order and emphasising fairness and justice to safeguard international and regional peace and stability.
Under the given international situation, the wording of the Xiamen Declaration matches well the hopes and aspirations of most countries, including the developing and low-income ones. Now the challenge will lie in translating the words into actions. If substantive actions now follow, that will lend credence to what the BRICS leaders have pledged. There are no a priori grounds to be sceptical on this count. Over the last one decade since its foundation, BRICS has come of age, becoming an important economic bloc that represents some of the world's key emerging economics and successful developing countries. The share of BRICS member-states in the global economy has increased from 12% in 2006 to 23% now. Their trade has grown from 11% to 16% during this period. Most strikingly, the contribution of their economics to global economic growth stands now at 50%. This is a commendable achievement. However, intra-BRICS investment flows still remain at an otherwise unimpressive level -- 12% now against 7.0% in 2006. At their summit in Xiamen, the BRICS leaders have not glossed over this issue; they have underlined the need for augmenting investment flows among their economies as well as to other developing and low-income countries.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping has brought three key aspects of BRICS at its ninth Summit into focus. These include: treating each other as equals and seeking common ground while shelving difference, adopting a results-oriented, innovative approach to make cooperation within this grouping benefit all and encouraging its member-nations to help others with the well-being of the world in mind. Under such circumstances, the "BRICS Plus" cooperation approach that has been adopted at the Summit would be considered a significant innovation. Also, the Dialogue of Emerging Markets and Developing Countries that has taken place on the sidelines of this year's Summit had its theme: 'Strengthening Mutually-Beneficial Cooperation for Common Development'. There a consensus -- a redeeming feature of the Summit -- has been reached in order to implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and build broad development partnerships of all concerned countries.
The leaders of BRICS have reiterated their call for upholding the principles of multilateralism in a steadfast manner. In this connection, both China and Russia have highlighted "the importance they attach to the status and role of Brazil, India and South Africa in international affairs", while supporting "their aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations." Furthermore, the BRICS leaders have strongly deplored "the nuclear test" conducted by Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). They have called upon the international community to establish a genuinely broad counterterrorism coalition while supporting the UN's central coordinating role to this effect. Issues like curbing corruption, tackling illicit flow of funds, leveraging the benefits of capital flows and managing the risks stemming from excessive cross-border flows and fluctuation, have also figured in, in the Xiamen Declaration. These are undeniably matters of import. All concerned would now expect that appropriate follow-up moves will come sooner rather than later to help achieve what the leaders of BRICS have stated in their Declaration.