BRICS summit boosts confidence in global economic growth

BEIJING - The just-concluded BRICS summit has boosted confidence in global economic growth, said close watchers of the bloc, who also hailed China's contribution to the summit's success.

Leaders of the BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- met in the western Indian state of Goa on Oct 15-16 for the group's 8th summit.

Roberto Jaguaribe, president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, said BRICS' impact on global governance should be viewed from two aspects.

Firstly, BRICS members are all developing countries, and they represent a large number of developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, Jaguaribe noted, stressing that strengthened cooperation among BRICS members will break new ground for South-South cooperation.

Secondly, BRICS represents 40 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of global GDP, Jaguaribe said, adding the pledge by BRICS to promote balanced and inclusive growth would bring hope to countries hoping to boost their moribund economies.

The bloc has pledged continued contributions to global institutions and growth, especially regarding the New Development Bank (NDB) and the initiation of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), which has has beefed up the global financial safety network.

Koh Chin Yee, CEO of Longus Research Institute, Singapore, said that the NDB and the BRICS CRA could help BRICS members create a new model of cooperation among developing countries to better help cope with future financial turbulence.

Koh also spoke highly of the growth momentum of BRICS, saying the bloc has already become a major force of global economic growth.

Meanwhile, experts lauded China's active role in the summit, saying it helped deepen ties within the bloc and provided fresh impetus for cooperation among developing countries.

Thanks to China, a key BRICS member, the bloc has transformed into an influential body on the global stage, said Li Zhuohui, an Indonesian political analyst.

During the Hangzhou G20 summit in September, China committed itself to implementing innovation-driven development and economic reform, which has been welcomed by countries around the world including BRICS nations, Li added.

A Kenyan economic analyst said Beijing's membership in globally influential bodies provides a chance to level the economic playfield in favor of poor countries.

"Although China is the biggest economy in the world, it still regards itself and is indeed regarded by many countries as part of the developing countries," said Gerrishon Ikiara, International Economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi.

"This explains why the 8th BRICS Summit in Goa stressed the need to create a fair, equitable and just international climate in which improvement in governance is given greater weight," said Ikiara.

Ikiara said by using BRICS as a global platform, Beijing could better promote financing programs tailored for developing countries, especially African states, as part of the pledges made under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

As the world's leading economy, China continues to play a key role in global bodies, including the G20, BRICS, FOCAC and the UN and its affiliates, said Ikiara.