Historic BRICS expansion offers it new starting point to promote fair and just global governance: China Daily editorial

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were invited to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism on Thursday. The addition of the six new members will give the group broader representativeness and undoubtedly further raise the group's profile on the world stage.

Despite the great lengths the West has gone to hype up internal tensions within the bloc over the introduction of new members, the remarkable expansion of the bloc, the first since South Africa joined the BRIC countries in 2010, indicates that not only was a consensus formed among Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on the issue, but also the unity of the organization.

All of the six new members, from three continents, are important regional players. Their inclusion in the group markedly broadens the scope of the BRICS mechanism, and will inject fresh vitality into it. The newly enlarged group will be better able to promote the interests of not only the 11 countries but those of the Global South as a whole.

Although the group is not intent on playing a zero-sum game between the Global South and North, something certain Western countries seem to want to kick off, its appeal to developing countries should prompt the developed countries to heed the calls for reform of the global governance system.

The existing system was largely formed in an era when the developed countries had the major share of the world economy and global growth. But now the emerging market economies have not only taken a large share of the world economy, about 40 percent, they also serve as the major engine of global growth. That entails an overhaul of the global system so as to reflect the less-developed countries' growing significance.

The expansion of BRICS is a new starting point for the group. It also promises a new start for the world, as what the countries of the Global South want is not a small exclusive clique, but an inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys enduring peace, universal security and common prosperity.

With its members now coming from almost all the major cradles of ancient civilizations, the expanded group will be able to promote mutual learning among civilizations for the exploration of a more inclusive and civilized growth model for human society compared with the law-of-the-jungle model imposed on the world by the West.

The agreement of the BRICS countries on the expansion of the group shows that no matter how the international situation changes, the BRICS countries remain committed to cooperation and consensus.

As said, the group will not barter away its principles, succumb to external pressure or act as vassals of others. The addition of the six new members reinforces that.