Whenthe10thBRICSSummit,tobeheldinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica,inlateJulyisapproaching,theworld鈥檚attentionisturningtothiscooperationmechanismthatconsistsofemergingmarketsanddevelopingcountries,withmembersfromAsia,Africa,EuropeandSouthAmerica.
TheBRICSmechanismcameintobeingatatimewhentheworldpatternwasexperiencingprofoundadjustmentsandchanges.WhenformerChairmanofGoldmanSachsAssetManagementJimO鈥橬eilinitiatedtheacronymofBRIC(Brazil,Russia,IndiaandChina)in2001,itwasonlyacommercialconceptclassifyingthemostpotentialandattractiveemergingmarketsformultinationalsaccordingtotheireconomicindicators,suchasthepopulation,resources,marketpotentialandeconomicgrowth.WiththerapidriseofoverallstrengthofdevelopingcountriesandtheincreaseofSouth-Southcooperation,ithasnowdevelopedintoanewplatformforemergingmarketsanddevelopingcountriestostrengthenmultilateralconsultationandcooperation.
GatewaytoAfrica
ThoughalatecomerinBRICS,SouthAfrica,theonlyAfricancountryinthegroup,isplayinganincreasinglyimportantroleinconnectingBRICS-Africacooperation.Asoneofthebiggesteconomiesonthecontinent,SouthAfricaisnowservingasanimportantgatewayforBRICScountriestostrengthencooperationwiththewholecontinent.ItsinclusionintoBRICSmeansotherBRICScountries鈥檙ecognitionofthecontinent鈥檚risingstatusintheglobalcommunityanditsdevelopmentpotentialinthecomingyears.
AlongwiththeexpansionofBRICS鈥檊eographiccoverage,SouthAfrica鈥檚membershipalsoreflectsthegroup鈥檚visionwhichhasgonebeyondtheoriginalrealmofeconomiccooperationtoreachmuchwiderrealms,suchasinternationalpoliticsandgeostrategicstructure.Ithasshownthetrendofservingasaplatformforcomprehensivedialogueandcooperationforemerginganddevelopingnations.
Fromtheperspectiveofeconomicaggregation,SouthAfrica鈥檚GDPaccountsfornearlyaquarterofAfrica,butismuchlesscomparedwithotherBRICSmembers,aboutaquarterofRussia鈥檚,whichrankedthelowestintheformerBRICgroup.Despitethat,SouthAfricarepresentsthegatewaytoAfricaandcanplayanactiveroleinfurtheringmutuallybeneficialandwin-winrelationsbetweenAsiaandAfrica.
Intermsoftheworldpoliticalandeconomicstructures,BRICScountriesoccupyimportantpositions.Politically,ChinaandRussiaaretwopermanentmembersoftheUNSecurityCouncil;Brazil,IndiaandSouthAfricaareimportantpowersinSouthAmerica,AsiaandAfrica.Economically,theGDPofthefivecountriescombinedis20percentoftheworld鈥檚total.Theircombinedterritoryareaandpopulationaccountfor30percentand43percentofthewholeworldrespectively.Giventhis,itisnaturalforthemechanismtogobeyondbeingsimplyeconomiccooperationattheoutsetandtonowhaveabroadervision.
Mutualsupport
ThankstothecloseeconomicandtradecooperationbetweenBRICSandAfricancountries,AfricasuccessfullyemergedfrominternationalfinancialcrisisandtheimpactofunrestinNorthAfrica,andisnowintheprocessofrapidrecovery.AfricaneconomiesandBRICScountriesaresupportingeachotherthroughwin-wincooperationtoachievesustainabledevelopment.Inmorethanadecade,BRICScountriesnotonlycontributed50percenttotheworld鈥檚economicgrowth,butalsopromotedAfrica鈥檚developmentthroughtradeandinvestment,makinggreatcontributionstopovertyreductioninAfricaandworlddevelopment.
MoreinspiringistheestablishmentoftheNewDevelopmentBank,whichcameintooperationonJuly21,2015,andthelaunchofitsAfricaRegionalCenter(ARC)inJohannesburginAugustlastyear.Thisbankiscommittedtosupportinginfrastructureconstructionandgreenenergydevelopment.Sourcesindicatethatitwillgrantloansof$1.5billiontoSouthAfricainthenext18months.
ThelaunchoftheARCreflectsBRICS鈥檚determinationoffulfillingitscommitmenttosupportingAfricandevelopment.Itisalsoagoodattemptfordevelopingcountriestorealizeindependentfinancialinnovation.Inthefuture,theARCwill,throughitsfinancialcapitalandbackedbyprojectdevelopment,greatlypromotesustainabledevelopmentintermsofAfricanintegration,industrializationandinfrastructureconstruction.
FOCACandBeltandRoadconnection
AsthelargesteconomyinBRICS,ChinaisspearheadingtheBRICS-Africacooperation.TobetterpromoteAfricandevelopment,ChinaissynergizingBRICSwithothercooperationplatformsinvolvingAfrica,suchastheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC).
FOCACwasestablishedin2000andhasservedasanimportantengineinpromotingChina-Africacooperationinallfieldssincethen.TheFOCACsummitsinBeijingin2006andinJohannesburgin2015pushedChina-Africaeconomiccooperationtonewheights.InordertoencourageAfricanindustrialization,ChinaalsoestablishedtheChina-AfricaFundforIndustrialCooperation,withastartupcapitalof$10billionandincreasedcapitalof$5billioneachtotheChina-AfricaDevelopmentFundandtheSpecialLoanfortheDevelopmentofAfricanSMEs.
AnotherimportantprogramBRICSisexpectedtosynergizewithistheBeltandRoadInitiative.SinceChinaputforwardtheBeltandRoadInitiativein2013,ithasbeeninjectingnewimpetustootherregionalcooperationmechanismsinAfrica.Infact,AfricancountriesareenthusiasticaboutparticipatingintheBeltandRoadconstruction.ShortlyafterthecloseofChina鈥檚SessionsoftheNationalPeople鈥檚CongressandtheNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConferenceinMarch,thepresidentsofCameroon,NamibiaandZimbabwevisitedChinaandexpressedtheirhopeofaligningtheirowndevelopmentstrategieswiththeBeltandRoadInitiative.
PromotedbytheBeltandRoadInitiativeinrecentyears,improvinginterconnectivityofinfrastructureandstrengtheningindustrialcapacitycooperationhavebecomethekeyareasoftheChina-Africarelations.ItisthenewconsensusofbothChinaandAfricancountriestopromoteindustrialdevelopmentandrealizetheAfricanaspirationofpovertyreductionthroughinvestingininfrastructure-relatedprojectsviatheplatformoftheBeltandRoadInitiative.
Inrecentyears,China-Africainterconnectivityconstructionandindustrialcapacitycooperationhaveyieldedimportantfruits,suchastheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailway,whichcameintooperationinOctoberin2016,andtheMombasa-NairobiStandardGaugeRailwayinMay2017.Industrialparkconstructionalongtherailrouteshasseenpreliminaryachievements.
Theyearof2018isanimportantyearforbothChinaandAfrica.Followingthe10thBRICSSummitthatwillbeheldinlateJulyinSouthAfrica,theFOCACBeijingSummitwillbeheldinChinainSeptember.ChineseandAfricanleaderswillgatherinBeijingtodiscussChina-Africacooperationinthenewera.Inthiscontext,theBRICSmechanismisexpectedtosynergizewiththeFOCACandtheBeltandRoadInitiativetofurtherpromoteAfricandevelopment.
XINHUAParticipantsofBRICSPoliticalParties,ThinkTanksandCivilSocietyOrganizationsForumheldinFuzhou,FujianProvinceinJune2017**TheauthorisaseniorresearcheroftheCharharInstituteandaresearcheroftheInstituteofWest-AsianandAfricanStudies,ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences
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