Xi addresses BRICS leaders, calls for deeper cooperation

The BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – should deepen their partnership to build a brighter future, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.

Xi made the comment in a letter sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Jacob Zuma, Brazilian President Michel Temer and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, briefing the leaders on China's blueprint for promoting cooperation between them during Chinese term as leader of the bloc in 2017.

China will host the ninth BRICS leaders' summit in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China's Fujian Province, in September.

Over the past decade, BRICS countries have made joint efforts to achieve results by cooperating on politics, the economy and people-to-people exchanges, Xi said.

BRICS countries have also made great strides in their leaders' summits, which has injected new dynamism into their cooperation, he added.

"The BRICS cooperation, a model for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries, has brought benefits to the people of BRICS nations and made great contributions to boosting global economic growth, improving global governance and promoting the democratization of international relations," Xi said.

The Chinese president predicted that BRICS nations will continue to progress cooperation and play a bigger role in international affairs during the next decade.

Facing growing uncertainties and instability in international affairs, BRICS countries need to enhance solidarity and safeguard common interests, he said.

Xi said the Xiamen summit will focus on four aspects; deepening pragmatic cooperation for common development; enhancing global governance to jointly counter challenges; carrying out people-to-people exchanges to consolidate public support for cooperation; promoting mechanism-building to construct a broader partnership.

"In accordance with an open, inclusive and win-win BRICS spirit, China will work with other BRICS countries to make the Xiamen summit a success and move BRICS cooperation to a new level," Xi said.

The BRIC cooperative mechanism was established in 2006.

The first BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009.

South Africa was admitted by the other BRIC leaders in 2010, adding the "S" to the original grouping.

Eight BRICS summits have taken place so far.