New Delhi | The BRICS should leverage its close ties with emerging markets and the Global South to safeguard supply chains and build a large integrated market, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday as he proposed a five-point initiative to boost cooperation in manufacturing, trade and technology.
In his address at the concluding session of the BRICS Summit, Xi said the Global South should jointly "defend" the rule of law in international affairs, safeguard the basic norms of global relations including sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs, and work towards peaceful settlement of disputes" in line with international law.
The annual summit of BRICS -- a grouping of 11 major emerging economies representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population and 40 per cent of global GDP -- concluded with all leading member nations calling for a better global governance and trading architecture to navigate current challenges.
China will hold the next BRICS summit.
The Chinese president called upon the leaders of the BRICS to work towards writing a "new chapter of strength through unity for the Global South", asserting that the logic that "might makes right" should have been discarded long ago.
"A world without rules is like a crossroads without traffic lights, where chaos and disorder are all but guaranteed. Fairness and justice is a universal aspiration, and international rules must be written by all countries," he said.
We must work to ensure that international rules are applied to all, he said.
In this context, Xi underlined the need to shun "double standards", remarks seen as directed at the Western powers.
"All countries, regardless of their size, strength or wealth, are equal members of the international community," Xi said.
He also delved into the challenges facing the developing nations in view of the geopolitical upheavals..
"We meet at a time when changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. The Global South, with its collective rise, has become a key driver of world multipolarity," he said.
At the same time, Xi said the international landscape is "volatile and fraught with risks and challenges".
"To bring stability to the world and make it a better place, BRICS countries must seize the historical initiative, rally the Global South, be an active, stabilising and positive force in international affairs, and advance the well-being of all humanity," he said.
Xi said Global South countries should "hold high the banner of multilateralism", uphold the authority and role of the United Nations, support multilateral institutions in advancing reform and increasing efficiency, he said.
He also called for reform of the international financial architecture to increase the representation of developing countries..
Xi's five-point initiative to enhance BRICS cooperation focuses on establishing an inclusive artificial intelligence framework, facilitating trade and investment, deepening digital industry ties, advancing "intelligent manufacturing," and launching a joint science and technology development initiative.
China will be a pioneer in establishing a BRICS-AI open source community to support the cooperation in developing and applying large language models, hold specialized AI seminars and training courses, and build an open AI ecosystem, he said, about the first initiative.
On the trade and investment facilitation initiative, Xi said China proposes to establish a BRICS special economic zone partnership, under which countries can set up an intelligent portal, coordinate policies, and build a new frontier for open development.
The third initiative, he said, will be in the domain of the digital industry.
"China will push for establishing a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, and conduct digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment, so as to jointly enable the development of the digital economy," he said.
The fourth one, Xi said, is to have expanded cooperation in the "intelligent manufacturing".
"China stands ready to assist fellow BRICS countries in building smart factories and developing standards and norms, and jointly promote manufacturing transformation and upgrading," he said.
The fifth initiative will be in the science and technology domain.
"China proposes to set up a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance for joint development of engineers and mutual recognition of competency standards. China will launch a BRICS youth exchange program for scientific and technological innovation, so as to cultivate more high-caliber talent," he said.
