Chongqing - Now that the world is facing unprecedented challenges, like the Russia-Ukraine conflict, ongoing pandemic, and climate change, how can BRICS member countries be more constructive in global governance and coping with challenges to achieve sustainable development?

Think-tank scholars, experts, and representatives of enterprises from BRICS member states gathered in Chongqing and attended the Online-Offline BRICS Think Tank Symposium to share their in-depth insights on these issues and have conducted very active discussions on May 6.  The Symposium was hosted by China Council for BRICS Think-tank Cooperation and organized by Sichuan International Studies University as a deputy chairman unit of the China Council for BRICS Think-tank Cooperation.

Jin Xin, the Secretary-General of the China Council for BRICS Think-tank Cooperation, delivered a speech at the symposium. While the globe is facing unprecedented changes, the international community especially developing countries, expects emerging market countries, including BRICS member states, to play a more important role in economic recovery and joint development. Jin Xin introduced that the theme of BRICS cooperation this year is “Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development.” As the presidency of BRICS this year, China looks forward to working with BRICS partners to respond to major concerns of the international community, especially developing countries, and achieve a more robust, greener, and healthier global development through building a more comprehensive, pragmatic, inclusive and closer partnership with BRICS member states.

Ma Ranxi, the Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing Committee, said that it’s remarkably meaningful to carry out cooperation among BRICS member states at the local level that serves as a specific step and an important carrier for pragmatic cooperation and can provide brand-new suggestions to cooperation at the national level. As an important strategic pivot of China’s Western Development and the connection between the Belt and Road and the Yangtze River economic belt, Chongqing will expand the pragmatic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges with other BRICS member states further to provide a more powerful driving force to the global development.

At the symposium, Chinese scholars and enterprises representatives thought that BRICS had made very outstanding achievements in aspects like founding the New Development Bank, the Partnership Innovative Bases of the New Industrial Revolution, and making the 2025 Economic Partnership Strategy for 16 years. What’s worth noting is that the New Development Bank symbolizes the fruitful cooperation among BRICS member states. By the end of 2021, the New Development Bank had approved 80 projects with a total investment of $ 31 billion within member states. These projects cover clean energy, transportation, urban development, water resource and hygiene, social infrastructure, and digital infrastructure. In the future, BRICS member states should continuously work together in every field of global governance and shift their role as participants in global development to the role of leaders, the role as the followers of the international order to the role of the builder and the defender, the role as demanders for the global public products to the role of suppliers.

Scholars and experts from Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, and other international organizations also shared their opinions. They thought that to achieve the sustainable development objectives; member states should deepen cooperation through dialogues and exchanges with more open minds and make joint efforts by mobilizing their resource. Therefore, on the one hand, the member countries should promote domestic structural reform, change the mode of the development, and realize equitable development that conforms to the laws and rules; on the other hand, the member countries should unwaveringly persist in multilateralism, efficiently implement global governance in the economy, and realize promises made in the south-south cooperation. Meanwhile, member countries should work together to resist economic downward pressure and risks. Some experts suggested that at the BRICS Leaders Meeting, attentions need to be given to fields like green development, EV manufacture, and issues like how to benefit developing countries with new digital industry and preserve the ecosystem and environment in the large-scale infrastructure construction.