BRICS heralds new era of unity and self-improvement for Global South

The 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, from Tuesday to Thursday, the first leaders' meeting after the grouping's expansion, has drawn the attention of different countries for different reasons.

Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates were formally welcomed into the BRICS' fold on Jan 1.

For those countries longing for a fair and just world order — especially the countries of the Global South such as Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Syria, Belarus and Pakistan which want to join the grouping — the summit in Kazan might open new channels to contribute to the cause of BRICS and enjoy the benefits of being a member of it.

It is the BRICS member states' technological progress, huge development potential, and common commitment to multilateralism — BRICS contributed more than 40 percent to global economic growth in the past decade — that have made the grouping capable of efficiently promoting the reform of the global governance system and clearing the bottlenecks that obstruct their respective development path and hinder common development.

Apart from trying to establish a more inclusive international financial settlement system to reduce the US dollar's dominance in global trade, the BRICS members are also building new and more cohesive communication channels and developing mechanisms that would sustain long-term investment, which are likely to be the subjects of discussion in Kazan. That more than 30 countries and regions, including non-BRICS members, are taking part in the meeting shows the grouping's agenda is conducive to meeting their needs.

But for countries trying to portray their "rules-based world order" as best suited to good global governance, particularly those that have been benefiting from the world order they built and BRICS Plus is trying to reform, the meeting in Kazan is like a thorn in their side.

The fact, however, is that the increasingly important roles BRICS and its member states are playing on the world stage have cheesed off the big cheese, which for long has taken it for granted that it will always be a winner-takes-it-all world. The developed world has now adopted a more vigilant approach toward BRICS because the grouping is not what they had thought it to be — an empty talk shop — but a resolute executor of plans and projects.

However, given the rise of hegemony, protectionism, unilateralism and bloc confrontation, and the efforts of some countries to drag the world into a new Cold War, BRICS should firmly resist the acts that undermine the world order, and focus on helping build a truly equal and multipolar world. The BRICS member states, in the process, should strengthen their coordination and cooperation with the rest of the Global South.

Besides, BRICS should safeguard food and energy security, and oppose the politicization and weaponization of food and energy issues, explore the possibility of establishing an inclusive supply and demand system, and industry and supply chains.

The grouping, with members like China, Russia and India, has the capability and means to lead a technological revolution by strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation and promoting innovation in the fields of artificial intelligence, new industrialization, deep-sea resource exploration, digital education and connectivity, and should consider doing so.

Since the inception of BRICS, the member states have been committed to upholding multilateralism and becoming a positive, stabilizing and benevolent force in international relations. And as one of the founding members of the grouping, China is ready to work with all parties to deepen cooperation within BRICS to ensure the grouping heralds a new era of unity and self-improvement for the Global South, and promotes global peace and development.