Xi urges BRICS countries to deepen strategic partnership, open up 2nd "Golden Decade"

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech titled "Turn Our Vision into a Reality" at the Plenary Session of the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 26, 2018. The session, hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, was also attended by Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [Photo: Xinhua/Li Xueren]

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged BRICS countries to deepen partnerships and work to open up a second "Golden Decade."

The message was delivered directly to his counterparts from Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa at the Plenary Session of the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

CRI's Yu Yang has the story.

The leaders of the five BRICS countries have exchanged in-depth views on BRICS cooperation and major international issues of common concern under the theme "BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution."

Delivering a speech titled "Turn Our Vision into a Reality," President Xi Jinping highlighted the outstanding features of the new industrial revolution and put forward initiatives on the future development of the BRICS cooperation.

He calls on the BRICS partners to unlock the enormous potential of economic cooperation by stepping up trade and investment, as well as economic, financial, and connectivity cooperation.

"It is important that we continue to pursue innovation-driven development and build the BRICS Partnership on the New Industrial Revolution to strengthen coordination on macroeconomic policies, find more complementarities in our development strategies, and reinforce the competitiveness of the BRICS countries, emerging market economies and developing countries".

He also calls for a concerted effort to fight unilateralism and protectionism.

"At the same time we must work together at the United Nations, the G20 and the World Trade Organization to safeguard the rule-based multilateral trading regime, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and reject protectionism outright."

Xi Jinping says the BRICS partners should expand people-to-people exchanges in order to "spread the BRICS story far and wide to further enhance the mutual understanding and traditional friendship among our people".

He says the BRICS countries should expand its network of partnerships.

"We may explore 'BRICS Plus' cooperation within the United Nations, the G20, and other frameworks to advance the common interests and boost the development space for emerging markets and developing countries, thus contributing more to world peace and development through broader partnerships."

The summit issued the Johannesburg Declaration, in which the BRICS countries sent a clear signal to preserve multilateralism and reject protectionism.

According to the declaration, the BRICS countries decided to deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, finance, political security and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.