Significance of the BRICS Mechanism

The two-day Sixth BRICS （Brazil， Russia， India， China， South Africa） Summit， which convenes on July 15 in Fortaleza， Brazil， marks the first session of the second cycle of BRICS Summits. Formulated as a global investment concept a decade or more ago， the BRICS group has held summits respectively in Yekaterinburg， Brasilia， Sanya， New Delhi， and Durban. Inter-BRICS cooperation began with the foreign ministersmeeting during the 2006 UN General Assembly， and progressed to the First BRICS Summit of 2009. The mechanism has since evolved into a framework for building partnerships in international politics， international economy and pragmatic cooperation.

Centering on BRICS Summits， the partnership is buttressed through meetings between foreign ministers and senior representatives on security issues. Leaders of the groups member countries have also agreed on an action plan for future cooperation in trade， finance， public health， science and technology， agriculture， and culture. BRICS has thus become an important cooperative mechanism for emerging market economies.

As a new international organization， how significant is the BRICS mechanism？

The five BRICS countries account for around 30 percent of the worlds territory and 42 percent of the world population. Last year they accounted for 21 percent of the world economy and 16 percent of world trade volume. In the past decade， the blocs contribution to global economic growth exceeded 50 percent， so signifying its development into an important engine for global economic recovery and sustainable growth.

Certain scholars predict that the combined BRICS GDP will surpass that of the U.S. by 2018， and overtake that of the G7 by 2030， and that before long it will constitute four of the worlds top six economic entities.

As five large developing countries in Asia， Europe， Latin America and Africa， BRICS members typify emerging markets and developing countries， and hence carry considerable clout on the four continents. In the 21st century， groups of developing countries have risen rapidly， transforming the world economic milieu from one hitherto driven largely by developed economies. Since the international financial crisis of 2008， and facing an impasse of debt crisis and economic recession， almost all developed countries， including the U.S.， have been compelled to rely on the economic growth of developing countries.

Western developed countries nevertheless retain a firm grip on the initiative to make decisions on international affairs and formulate international rules， and will not voluntarily relin- quish dominance within global economic governance. Although requiring large developing countries to bear greater international responsibilities within global economic governance， they nevertheless reserve the corresponding international power， and purposefully buy the time necessary to reject or obstruct any reform that might compromise their control.

It is therefore vital that developing countries， especially large developing nations， unite in down-to-earth South-South cooperation， the need for and importance of which has been clear since the 1970s. But achieving substantial progress is uphill work. Exploiting differences， contradictions and conflicts among developing countries enables Western countries to crush each one， or to divide and rule.

The BRICS group has come to be regarded as the most important South-South endeavor with respect to cooperation among large developing countries， as well as a key platform for North-South dialogue. BRICS members are influential in international and regional organizations such as the UN， G20， Non-Aligned Movement， Group of 77， Africa Union and Shanghai Cooperation Organization. All have significant impact on South-South cooperation and North-South dialogue.

If cooperation maintains its momentum， BRICS will provide the most “positive energy” for global economic governance and for reforming the aging international financial order and economic framework. In the long term， the BRICS mechanism will promote world multipolarization and democratization of international relations， and the establishment of a new world order.

This is the most significant attribute of the BRICS mechanism， as it brings hope to the world.

There are undeniably huge differences among BRICS members， each of which represent different political institutions， cultures and civilizations. BRICS members might also encounter conflicts of interest in their pursuit and control of natural resources， competition for market share， endeavors in developing economy， as well as maintenance of international political and economic rights.

These difficulties， however， pale in the face of common and ambitious goals. We believe that as long as the five members remain united and steadily advance， the BRICS group will gain the right to speak for developing countries in international affairs， propel democratization of international politics， safeguard world peace， and promote common development.