Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published:June 24,2022
By Staff Writer
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a virtual keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, on Wednesday June 22, 2022, where he made China’s position clear on a number of issues including the Russia Ukraine war and other global challenges like the COVID- 19 pandemic. Xi also called on major developed countries to avoid negative spillover effects of their policies and prevent severe shocks that affect developing countries.
“It has been proved time and again that sanctions are a boomerang and a double-edged sword. To politicize the global economy and turn it into one’s tool or weapon, and willfully impose sanctions by using one’s primary position in the international financial and monetary systems will only end up hurting one’s own interests as well as those of others, and inflict suffering on everyone,” Xi noted.
Regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine, Xi said that, “The Ukraine crisis is another wake-up call for all in the world. It reminds us that blind faith in the so-called ‘position of strength’ and attempts to expand military alliances and seek one’s own security at the expense of others will only land oneself in a security dilemma.”
Xi further observed that, “The BRICS mechanism is an important cooperation platform for emerging markets and developing countries. The business community is a dynamic force driving BRICS’ effective cooperation. BRICS cooperation has now entered a new stage of high-quality development. I hope that you business leaders will continue to act with tenacity and in a pioneering spirit, and champion open, innovative and shared development so as to add new impetus to BRICS cooperation.”
Xi also said China will continue to enhance opening-up and foster a business environment that is based on market principles, governed by law and up to international standards. He also encouraged businesses to invest and develop in China, enhance trade and economic cooperation, and share development opportunities.
Chinese academic, Zhu Xufeng, the executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals, Tsinghua University, notes that the BRICS mechanism provides a stage for the voices of developing countries to be heard, and that the block of five countries has become a strong pillar for global economic development. Zhu also notes that, “China is the biggest economy in the BRICS, and in order to promote the BRICS mechanism to play more effective role, China has provided the platform for fair communication and also offered public goods to the world for joint development,” like the Belt and Road Initiative, and it will continually work with other partners under the BRICS and BRICS Plus mechanism to contribute more positive energy to the world in turbulence.
