Banking on Success

Banking on Success

The leaders of the fve BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—reached a new consensus and achieved tangible results at their latest summit, which concluded last week in the South African city of Durban.

According to a joint statement, the five major emerging economies will expand their future cooperation to include more sectors. They agreed to establish a development bank to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the BRICS countries. It is also believed that the bank will serve as a supplement to the existing efforts of multilateral and regional fnancial institutions to spur global growth and development. Other highlights of the summit include the founding of a foreign reserve pool and the establishment of a business council.

The BRICS efforts to jointly establish an international development agenda and create a more balanced global development will surely contribute to their integration and industrialization, as well as world economic governance at large. BRICS cooperation not only benefts the people of the five countries, but also contributes to promoting democracy in international relations.

Making his debut at the summit, which was held for the frst time on the African continent since the establishment of the organization fve years ago, newly elected Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed confdence with the other state leaders that the group will play a bigger role on the world stage.

Besides attending the BRICS summit, Xi also included Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo as destinations of his frst overseas trip since he took offce in mid-March. In a milestone speech in Tanzania, the Chinese president gave credit to the concerted efforts of China and African countries for pushing China-Africa relations into “a fast-track of all-round development.” He pledged to continue fostering the bilateral ties in every possible areas, including cooperation on international and regional affairs, investment, infrastructure, trade, agriculture, education and people-to-people exchange.

In recent years, cooperation between China and the continent has bore notable fruits. China and the African states are now agreeing to upgrade traditional ties and to forge a better partnership.

Xi elaborated on the Chinese dream of national renewal and the African dream of gaining strength from unity. They share a common desire to achieve development and rejuvenation to maintain world peace. As Africa has become one of the fastest growing regions in the world and China continues to enjoy strong development momentum, China-Africa relations are certain to continue forging ahead.