Press briefing by Chinese Foreign Ministry in progress
“Since the trends of unilateralism and trade protectionism are on the rise, it is necessary to deepen solidarity and cooperation between emerging market countries and developing countries to oppose unilateralism and protectionism, to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development, and to enhance the well-being of peoples of all countries.”
Geng Shuang, spokesman, Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Shotline
Expanded cooperation mechanism between emerging market economies and developing countries is conducive to sustainable development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in Beijing on Monday, commenting on the success of the 10th summit of the BRICS grouping.
Chinese President Xi Jinping last Friday made a speech to an outreach dialogue grouping leaders from the BRICS, the “BRICS Plus” and African countries at the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, calling on BRICS members to expand cooperation both within the emerging-market grouping itself and with other developing countries in the next decade.
Countries in the grouping agreed that, in an atmosphere of heightened trade protectionism, the “BRICS Plus” mode of expanded cooperation holds great promise for the future.
“Since the trends of unilateralism and trade protectionism are on the rise, it is necessary to deepen solidarity and cooperation between emerging market countries and developing countries to oppose unilateralism and protectionism, to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development, and to enhance the well-being of peoples of all countries,” said Geng.
Leaders invited to the dialogue commended the BRICS leaders for carrying forward the practices from last year’s Xiamen Summit by conducting such a dialogue, saying it reflects the inclusiveness of the BRICS cooperation.
Besides Xi, other BRICS leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the leaders or representatives of the leaders from Angola, Argentina, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Jamaica, as well as heads of regional organizations in Africa attended the dialogue.
BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The five BRICS nations, with over 40 percent of the world’s population and nearly one third of the world’s land area, have a combined GDP of about one-fifth of the world’s total.
