Chinese leader urges BRICS countries to strengthen mutual trust

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

China's president has voiced confidence over the positive long-term prospects of the BRICS countries despite the global economic downturn, emphasizing that the potential and strength of the association remains unchanged.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on to strengthen trust between the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - in the current "difficult, hard conditions".

He called for the creation of an open economy and warned against any form of protectionism, TASS reported on October 16.

Xi Jinping also stressed the importance of implementation of the outcomes of “G 20” summit which took place in September in Hangzhou (East China) in order to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive “global economic growth”.

The Chinese side put forward proposals to the BRICS countries, including the creation of "open world", capable of coping with the most pressing global challenges.

In addition, Xi Jinping said that the next summit of the BRICS will be held on a rotational basis in September 2017 in China.

"China will work with all interested countries on the realization of the consensus reached at previous summits, deepening partnerships and entering a new chapter of  the cooperation within BRICS", - said the head of the Chinese state.

BRICS is an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.  These countries are all leading developing or newly industrialized countries. However, they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies, as well as, a significant influence on regional affairs. All these countries are G-20 members.

The grouping contains about half of the world's population and nearly 25% of world economic output.

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for world economic growth in 2016, with Brazil, South Africa, and Russia receiving some of the sharpest downgrades.

The BRICS economies have been hit by falling global demand and lower commodity prices.

However, many experts are confident that the association will succeed, primarily because of China.