BRICS countries to consolidate, advance cooperation momentum: MOC

BEIJING -- BRICS countries will further consolidate and advance the momentum of cooperation to promote the BRICS mechanism as an accelerator of global economic recovery and sustainable development, Vice-Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said Friday.

The remarks came as the 14th BRICS Summit on Thursday issued the Beijing Declaration, which laid out priorities and directions for BRICS economic and trade cooperation.

The positive results of the meeting show that the willingness of BRICS countries to unite and cooperate has not changed, while the momentum has not declined, despite mounting uncertainties and instabilities in the global environment, Wang noted.

BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market group that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

In 2021, trade between China and other BRICS countries amounted to more than $490 billion, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent. From January to May this year, the trade maintained a relatively high growth rate of 16 percent year-on-year to reach $205.1 billion.

While the trade volume of the BRICS countries accounts for about 20 percent of the global total, trade among the nations only makes up for 6 percent of BRICS countries' total foreign trade, a relatively low proportion that shows huge growth potential, according to Wang.

Regarding supply-chain cooperation among BRICS countries, Wang pointed out that some countries' attempts to decouple from others, sever supply chains and build "a small yard with high fences" have seriously affected the security and stability of the global supply chain and hindered the recovery of the global economy.

As representatives of major emerging market countries and important supply-chain players, the BRICS countries have proposed to strengthen supply-chain cooperation, which reflects their responsibility and initiative, Wang said.

"We look forward to carrying out wider and deeper cooperation with the BRICS countries to jointly build a stable, safe, mutually beneficial industrial and supply-chain system, and promote trade and investment flows and sustained economic recovery," the vice-minister stressed.