Xi's BRICS business forum speech earns accolades

President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on Sunday earned wide praise from experts, international delegates and entrepreneurs.

"We are in a great era of development, transformation and adjustment," Xi said. "The law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak and the zero-sum game are rejected, and peace, development and win-win cooperation have become the shared aspiration of all peoples."

Here is a collection of comments from attendees.

Jeremy Stevens, Beijing-based China economist of Standard Bank, Africa's largest bank

Jeremy Stevens, Beijing-based China economist of Standard Bank, Africa's largest bank. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

President Xi Jinping placed emphasis on his speech on next year's 40th anniversary of reform and opening up in which Xiamen played a significant part, being one of the country's first special economic zones.

"It was an interesting reminder of the importance of opening up to the world. As with his Davos speech in January, he was making clear his and China's commitment to globalization in marked contrast to the lurch to protectionism in the West."

Stevens said Xi was right to stress that quality of growth was now as important to the BRICS nations as the pace of it.

"He emphasized the importance of macroeconomic policy and industrial development policy coordination between the BRICS members, which was the right message. The group was never just about fast growth," he said.