Forging High-quality Partnership For a New Era of Global Development : Xi Jinping
Dhaka June 24 2022 :
The 14th BRICS Summit Held President Xi Jinping Chairs the Summit and Delivers Important Remarks
On the evening of June 23, Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing via video link. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Summit.
Elegant blooms adorned the East Hall of the Great Hall of the People. The national flags of the five BRICS countries were arranged neatly and echoed the colors of the BRICS logo.
Around eight o’clock in the evening, the BRICS leaders took a virtual group photo and the meeting began.
President Xi Jinping made welcoming remarks first. He noted that over the past year, despite formidable and complex circumstances, BRICS countries have embraced the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, enhanced solidarity and coordination and jointly addressed difficulties. The BRICS mechanism has demonstrated resilience and vitality. BRICS cooperation has achieved sound progress and results. This Summit is held at a critical juncture in the shaping of the future course of humanity. BRICS countries, as important emerging markets and major developing countries, need to act with a sense of responsibility, speak out for equity and justice, remain firm in the conviction that the pandemic will be defeated, pool strength for economic recovery, advocate sustainable development, jointly contribute wisdom and ideas to the high-quality development of BRICS cooperation and bring positive, stabilizing and constructive strength to the world.
President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech titled “Fostering High-quality Partnership and Embarking on a New Journey of BRICS Cooperation”.
President Xi Jinping pointed out that our world today is living through accelerating changes unseen in a century and continued spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. They confront humanity with unprecedented challenges. Over the past 16 years, the giant ship of BRICS has sailed forward tenaciously against raging torrents and storms. Riding the wind and cleaving the waves, it has embarked on a righteous course of mutual support and win-win cooperation. Standing at the crossroads of history, we should both look back at the journey we have traveled and keep in mind why we established BRICS in the first place, and look forward to a shared future of a more comprehensive, close, practical and inclusive high-quality partnership so as to jointly embark on a new journey of BRICS cooperation.
First, we need to uphold solidarity and safeguard world peace and tranquility. Some countries attempt to expand military alliances to seek absolute security, stoke bloc-based confrontation by coercing other countries into picking sides, and pursue unilateral dominance at the expense of others’ rights and interests. If such dangerous trends are allowed to continue, the world will witness even more turbulence and insecurity. It is important that BRICS countries support each other on issues concerning core interests, practice true multilateralism, safeguard justice, fairness and solidarity and reject hegemony, bullying and division. China would like to work with BRICS partners to operationalize the Global Security Initiative (GSI), advocate a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, create a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum, and bring more stability and positive energy to the world.
Second, we need to uphold cooperation to boost development and jointly tackle risks and challenges. The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis has cast shadows over development worldwide, and emerging markets and developing countries bear the brunt. But just as a crisis may bring chaos, it can also spur change. A lot will ride on how we handle the crisis. BRICS countries should boost connectivity of industrial and supply chains and jointly meet challenges in poverty reduction, agriculture, energy, logistics and other fields. We should support greater development of the New Development Bank and improve the Contingent Reserve Arrangement to cement the BRICS financial safety net and firewall. We should also expand BRICS cooperation on cross-border payment and credit rating to facilitate trade, investment and financing among our countries. China stands ready to work with BRICS partners to add more substance to the Global Development Initiative (GDI), re-energize the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, build a global community of development, and contribute to stronger, greener and healthier global development.
Third, we need to uphold the pioneering spirit and innovation and unleash the potential and vitality of cooperation. Those who seek to create monopoly, blockade and barriers in science and technology in order to disrupt other countries’ innovation and development and hold on to their dominant position are doomed to fail. We need to improve global science and technology governance and allow more people to access and benefit from the fruits of scientific and technological advances. We have accelerated the building of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution Innovation Center, reached the Digital Economy Partnership Framework, and issued the Initiative for Cooperation on Digitalization of Manufacturing. All these have opened new channels for closer industrial policy coordination between BRICS countries. Recognizing the importance of talents in the digital age, we have set up the Alliance for Vocational Education to build a talent pool for stronger BRICS cooperation on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Fourth, we need to uphold openness and inclusiveness and pool collective wisdom and strength. BRICS countries gather not in a closed club or an exclusive circle, but a big family of mutual support and a partnership for win-win cooperation. Over the past five years, we have organized a variety of “BRICS Plus” events in such areas as vaccine research and development, scientific and technological innovation, people-to-people exchanges and sustainable development. All these provide new platforms for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries, and set a prime example of South-South cooperation and seeking strength through unity among emerging markets and developing countries. Under the new circumstances, it is all the more important for BRICS countries to pursue development with open doors and boost cooperation with open arms. It is important to advance the process of BRICS membership expansion to allow like-minded partners to become part of the BRICS family at an early date. This will inject new vitality into BRICS cooperation and increase the representativeness and influence of BRICS.
President Xi Jinping stressed that as representatives of emerging markets and developing countries, we must make the right decision and take responsible actions at this critical juncture of history. What we do will have a significant impact on the world. Let us stay united, pool strength and forge ahead to build a community with a shared future for mankind and jointly create a bright future for humanity.
The leaders attending the summit thanked China for hosting this event and the efforts it made for promoting BRICS cooperation. They believed that facing international uncertainties, BRICS countries should strengthen solidarity, carry forward the BRICS spirit, consolidate strategic partnership and jointly respond to various challenges so that BRICS cooperation can reach a new level and play a bigger role in international affairs.
Under the theme of “Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development”, leaders of the five countries held in-depth exchange of views on BRICS cooperation in various sectors and major issues of common concern and reached important consensus. They agreed on the need to stay committed to multilateralism, work for greater democracy in global governance, safeguard fairness and justice, and inject stability and positive energy into the turbulent international landscape. They agreed on the need to jointly respond to COVID-19, give full play to such mechanisms as the BRICS Vaccine R&D Center, promote fair and equitable distribution of vaccines, and enhance preparedness in the face of public health crises. They agreed on the need to deepen practical economic cooperation, firmly defend the multilateral trading system, work to foster an open world economy, oppose unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction”, strengthen cooperation in such fields as digital economy, technological innovation, industrial and supply chains, food and energy security, and jointly promote world economic recovery. They agreed on the need to promote shared global development, give priority to addressing the most pressing needs of developing countries, eradicate poverty and hunger, address the challenge posed by climate change together, expand the application of such technologies as aerospace and big data in the field of development, accelerate the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and make BRICS contribution to jointly ushering in a new era of global development. They agreed on the need to strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchange and mutual learning and forge more signature projects in various sectors including think tanks, political parties, media and sports. They also agreed on the need to pursue “BRICS Plus” cooperation at more levels, in broader areas and within a greater scope, actively advance the BRICS membership expansion process, keep BRICS abreast of the times, increase its appeal and relevance, and constantly strive for substantive, solid and sustained progress.
The XIV BRICS Summit Beijing Declaration was adopted and released at the event.
The BRICS leaders were also briefed by representatives of relevant BRICS cooperation mechanisms on their work.
Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and He Lifeng, among others, attended the Summit.
Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China
At the High-level Dialogue on Global Development
Dear Colleagues:
Development is a timeless theme for humanity. In the late 1960s, I worked as a farmer in a small village on the Loess Plateau. There I experienced first-hand the hardships in farming and saw how the local people struggled to make ends meet. Their longing for a better life has stayed in my mind ever since. Half a century later, I revisited the village and found the villagers no longer in want of food or clothing, as evidenced by the happy smiles on their faces.
As an ancient Chinese saying goes, “Only when the granary is full will people learn etiquette; only when people are well-fed and clothed will they know honor and shame.” Throughout the years, I have been to cities, towns and villages across China and visited many countries in the world. One deep impression I get is that only through continuous development can the people’s dream for a better life and social stability be realized.
Over the years, developing countries have worked unremittingly to explore development paths suited to their national realities and to pursue economic and social development. Such efforts have produced remarkable outcomes. Today, emerging markets and developing countries account for half of the world economy, and notable progress has been made in science and technology, education, social development, culture and many other areas.
We are meeting at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is eroding decades of gains in global development, the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is encountering difficulties, the North-South gap keeps widening, and crises are emerging in food and energy security. Some countries have politicized and marginalized the development issue, built “a small yard with high fences”, imposed maximum sanctions, and stoked division and confrontation. At the same time, people in all countries are more keen about pursuing peace, development and cooperation, emerging markets and developing countries are more resolved to seek strength through unity, and the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is bringing more opportunities to countries around the world.
This is an age rife with challenges, but it is also an age full of hope. We must get a good grasp of the overarching development trend in the world, firm up confidence, and act in unison and with great motivation to promote global development and foster a development paradigm featuring benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity.
First, we need to jointly build international consensus on promoting development. Only when people all over the world live better lives can prosperity be sustained, security safeguarded and human rights solidly grounded. It is important that we put development front and center on the international agenda, deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and build political consensus to ensure everyone values development and all countries pursue cooperation together.
Second, we need to jointly create an enabling international environment for development. Protectionist moves will boomerang; anyone attempting to form exclusive blocs will end up isolating himself; maximum sanctions serve nobody’s interest, and practices of decoupling and supply disruption are neither feasible nor sustainable. It is important that we pursue development in real earnest and promote development in concert, build an open world economy, and shape a global governance system and institutional environment that are more just and equitable.
Third, we need to jointly foster new drivers for global development. Innovation is the primary driving force for development. It is important that we promote scientific, technological and institutional innovation, speed up technology transfer and knowledge sharing, boost the development of modern industries, close the digital divide and accelerate low-carbon transition, with a view to achieving stronger, greener and healthier global development.
Fourth, we need to jointly forge a global development partnership. Only by working together can we accomplish big and great things with a far-reaching impact. Developed countries need to fulfill obligations, developing countries need to deepen cooperation, and the North and the South need to work in the same direction to forge a united, equal, balanced and inclusive global development partnership. In this process, no country or individual should be left behind. It is important that we support the UN in steering and coordinating global development cooperation, and encourage business communities, social groups, the media and think tanks to take part in such cooperation.
Colleagues,
China has always been a member of the big family of developing countries. At last year’s UN General Assembly session, I put forth the Global Development Initiative (GDI). China will take pragmatic steps to give continued support to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
—China will allocate more resources for global development cooperation. We will upgrade the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and add US$1 billion to the fund on top of the US$3 billion already committed. We will also increase input to the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund. Such efforts will further support cooperation under the GDI.
—China will work with all sides to advance cooperation in priority areas and mobilize resources for development to deepen global cooperation on poverty reduction and eradication, build capacity for food production and supply, and promote clean energy partnerships; step up innovation, research and development and joint production of vaccines; work on the conservation and sustainable use of land and marine ecology; and raise digital literacy and skills of the public, transform and upgrade the path to industrialization at a faster pace, and enhance digital-era connectivity to inject new impetus into the development of all countries.
—China will set up a platform for experience and knowledge sharing on international development, a global development promotion center and a global knowledge network for development, for the purpose of exchanging governance experience and promoting mutual learning. We will host a global forum on youth development and take part in the launch of a global action plan on youth development, in a bid to pool as much strength as possible for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As an ancient Chinese adage goes, “With one heart and one mind, we can accomplish everything we aspire for.” Let us firm up confidence, stride forward in pursuit of high-quality partnership, and usher in a new era of prosperity and development.
Thank you.
(Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China)
Xi addresses BRICS Business Forum
President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum in virtual format in Beijing on Wednesday and delivered a keynote speech.
Xi calls for joint efforts to seek, uphold peace
History has shown that hegemony, group politics and bloc confrontations bring neither peace nor stability, but rather war and conflict, said Xi in a keynote speech delivered in virtual format at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum.
The Ukraine crisis has again sounded the alarm for humanity: Countries will surely end up in security hardships if they place blind faith in their positions of strength, expand military alliances, and seek their own safety at the expense of others, Xi said.
Xi calls for steering global development into new era
Noting that development holds the key to tackle challenges and promote people’s well-being, Xi said the aspirations of the people and the interests of the international community should be the focus in steering global development into a new era to bring benefits to people of all countries.
Xi calls for solidarity, win-win cooperation
Xi called on countries around the world to stick together in the face of difficulties and join hands for win-win cooperation.
Currently, some key industrial and supply chains are intentionally hindered, commodities prices are fluctuating at high levels, inflation is running high around the world, international financial markets remain volatile, and the momentum of the global economic recovery is continuously weakening, said Xi.
“People are all worried if the world economy will fall into the quagmire of crises,” Xi said. “At this crucial moment, only by sticking together in solidarity and cooperation can we overcome economic crises.”
Willful sanctioning brings disasters to people around world
Describing sanctions as boomerangs and double-edged swords, Xi said those who politicize, leverage and weaponize global economy and willfully impose sanctions by taking advantage of dominance in international financial and monetary systems will eventually harm others and themselves and bring disasters to people around the world.
Major developed countries should adopt responsible economic policies
Xi called on major developed countries to avoid negative spillover effects of their policies and to prevent severe shocks for developing countries.
Macroeconomic policy coordination should be intensified in order to prevent global recovery from slowing down or even halting, said Xi.
China to strive to meet 2022 economic, social targets, minimize COVID-19 impacts
Xi said that China will strengthen macro-policy adjustment and adopt more effective measures to strive to meet the social and economic development targets for 2022 and minimize the impacts of COVID-19.
Xi said China has adhered to the principle of “people first, life first,” built a solid defense against the epidemic, and consolidated the results of epidemic prevention and control. The measures have protected the people’s life and health to the utmost and stabilized the fundamentals of economic and social development as much as possible, Xi said.
Economic globalization unstoppable historical trend
Xi said economic globalization has been faced with headwinds over a period of time, as some countries have tried to “decouple and cut off chains,” and build “exclusive yards with high walls.”
This has raised common concern in the international community that, if the trend goes on, the global economy will be divided into isolated blocs, Xi said.
Those who attempt to turn back the wheel of history and block others’ paths will only reach a dead end themselves, he said.
Xi calls for promoting sound development of globalization
Xi called for efforts to stay open and inclusive, and clear away all barriers impeding the development of productive forces to promote the sound development of globalization.
We should encourage the free flow of capital and technology and a continued emergence of innovation and wisdom so as to pool the synergy of global economic growth, he said.
Xi calls for strengthening global economic governance
Xi urged efforts to strengthen global economic governance and increase the representation and voices of emerging markets and developing countries.
Xi stresses upholding multilateral trading system with WTO at its core
Xi called for upholding the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, removing trade, investment and technology barriers, and working to build an open world economy.
CPC to convene 20th national congress in second half of 2022
Xi said the Communist Party of China (CPC) is to convene its 20th national congress in the second half of 2022 to draw China’s development blueprint in the next stage.
China to continue to enhance opening-up
Xi said China will continue to enhance opening-up and foster a business environment that is based on market principles, governed by law and up to international standards.
He encouraged businesses to invest and develop in China, enhance trade and economic cooperation, and share development opportunities.
Historical trend of openness, development not to change
Despite the changing international landscape, the historical trend of openness and development will not change, nor will the aspiration to meet challenges together, said Xi.
Xi called on all countries to not flinch away from risks, rise up to challenges and forge ahead toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity.
(Source: China Daily)
