With expanded membership, BRICS' role set to be bolstered at Kazan summit

Countries of the Global South are increasingly looking upon the BRICS grouping as an indispensable international force for global economic development and the building of a more just, equitable world.

This year marks the beginning of greater BRICS cooperation after the expansion of the grouping in 2023. Leaders of the member states of the newly expanded BRICS are expected to draw a blueprint for the future development of this vibrant bloc at their summit in the Russian city of Kazan. On the agenda for their discussions from Tuesday to Thursday are advancing economic globalization and the democratization of international relations, and upholding multilateralism and the spirit of cooperation and unity.

Over the years, BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, five developing countries with considerable economic potential, has evolved into an influential international cooperation mechanism. With the addition of some new members, the grouping accounts for about 30 percent of the global GDP, 45 percent of the global population and 20 percent of global trade. Together, the expanded BRICS economies have contributed as much as 80 percent of global growth in the past 20 years.

Powered by the three engines of political and security cooperation, economic and financial cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, BRICS has become an important means for the Global South to raise its presence in the international arena.

As the largest developing country, China has been a significant promoter and driver of BRICS cooperation over the past 18 years, as evidenced by the New Development Bank, set up by the original BRICS members in 2015 and headquartered in Shanghai. Launched in 2015, the bank has become an important financial vehicle for mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other developing countries. By the end of 2023, it had approved approximately $35 billion for 105 projects.

China and its BRICS partners have also launched projects such as the China-BRICS Science and Innovation Incubation Park for the New Era and the China-BRICS AI Development and Cooperation Center. In the first quarter of this year, China's imports from and exports to BRICS countries increased by more than 11 percent year-on-year.

A steadfast champion of BRICS cooperation, President Xi Jinping has consistently placed BRICS high on China's foreign policy agenda. His attendance at the Kazan summit demonstrates China's confidence in the multilateral cooperation mechanism continuing to play an important role on the world stage. Thanks to concerted efforts of the five original BRICS members, the grouping has made substantial progress and become a beacon shining a guiding light on the path of practical cooperation for developing countries.

To date, more than 30 countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Turkiye and Azerbaijan have either formally applied for or expressed their interest in BRICS membership. Such popularity underscores the wide global recognition of the bloc's role in shaping the international landscape and safeguarding global peace and development. In stark contrast to the bad blood in international relations and governance caused by the developed countries' efforts to cling to their privileges derived from their colonial pasts, the BRICS mechanism champions the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation, which is badly needed in the face of the divisive high-and-mighty actions of the exploitative VIP club of developed countries.

As a pivotal mechanism representing the Global South, the expanded BRICS can play a bigger role in advancing a more just and equitable international order as well as the reform of global governance. Hence, it can be expected that the ongoing BRICS summit will bring to the world more certainty, stability and positive energy and contribute to the building of a better shared future for humanity.

China hopes that the Kazan summit will produce positive outcomes and unleash the strengths of the expanded BRICS, enhancing and upgrading BRICS cooperation and bringing out the strategic significance and political impact of the expanded grouping to help build an international consensus for peace and development.