BRICS of, for and by developing countries: China Daily editorial

It is good to see Johannesburg confirm late last week that it will host the first in-person BRICS Summit in three years from Aug 22 to 24.

What makes this summit of special significance is the fact that heads of state from all African countries have been invited to participate under the theme "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism".

This is the 15th summit of its kind, and the largest in scale. What is also noteworthy is that an increasing number of countries have been applying to join this economic grouping, which is regarded as an organization for the developing countries, of the developing countries and by the developing countries.

It has been reported that dozens of countries have applied for memberships of the organization. Having been marginalized for centuries, developing countries, those in Africa in particular, have been longing for an international platform on which their voices are not ignored and their concerns for their own development are taken seriously. Although the heads of state from some African countries used to be invited to meetings of Western countries, their concerns were usually given short shrift.

Western countries are only paying lip service when they talk about support for economic and social development in developing countries. Their empty talk only serves for show. Their accusations that China's investments and projects in low-income countries are opaque, exploitative and stoking corruption are nothing but attempts to undermine the cooperation between China and these countries.

All the members of BRICS are emerging countries, and the organization was established to voice the concerns and promote the development of developing countries. Its emergence has meant developing countries have been able to form a chorus to amplify their voice on the international stage, making it harder for the Western countries to ignore their calls for a fairer international order and equal opportunities for developing countries.

The approach BRICS has been pursuing is for development in harness for low-income countries. For the first time, developing countries have seen hope that there is the means for them to overcome the obstacles to development and get the best out of their own political systems and their own cultures through South-South cooperation.

Its expansion sends the message that the world is becoming increasingly multipolarized. BRICS on behalf of the developing world has become an important economic and political driver of multilateralism and economic globalization. Reform of the global governance system to make it more equitable and fairer is firmly on the agenda of the international community.