China's 'four pioneers' lead BRICS cooperation into its 3rd 'golden decade'

Editor's note: Liu Xu is a research fellow at the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

China called for BRICS countries to be pioneers in advancing innovation-driven development, upholding peace and stability, facilitating mutual learning between civilizations, as well as reforming and improving global governance, during the18th BRICS Summit that concluded successfully in New Delhi on Sunday. 

Roles of "four pioneers" are not only a profound summary of the development experience of BRICS cooperation over the past 20 years, but also, grounded in the context of accelerating changes unseen in a century and the continued growth of Global South forces.

They point out the way forward for the high-quality development of "greater BRICS" cooperation.

The "four pioneers" constitute a coherent organic whole: innovation is the driving force for development, peace is an important prerequisite, mutual learning among civilizations is the social foundation and global governance is the institutional safeguard. 

To be pioneers in advancing innovation-driven development, BRICS countries should seize the opportunities of new scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, deepen collaboration in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), uphold open-source and openness in innovation, cooperation and sharing and promote the upgrading of practical cooperation.

China has proposed that the BRICS cooperation enables a new type of industrialization with AI, promote the establishment of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization and the building of an International Artificial Intelligence Application Cooperation Center, welcoming the active participation of all BRICS parties. 

This fully demonstrates that BRICS is, by no means, a closed and exclusionary small circle, but an open cooperation platform that embraces technological change and jointly builds industrial and supply chains. By contrast, "decoupling" and the "small yards, high fences" approach run counter to the trend of the times and will ultimately lead nowhere.

To be pioneers in upholding peace and stability, it is necessary to adhere to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, abandon the "Cold War mentality" and bloc confrontation, respect the sovereignty of all countries, refrain from interfering in other countries' internal affairs, and constructively participate in mediation of hot issues.

To be pioneers in facilitating mutual learning between civilizations, it is necessary to promote the common values of all humanity, advocate harmony and coexistence, make good use of the BRICS people-to-people forum, expand exchanges in culture, education, youth and other fields, and realize equal dialogue between different systems and different civilizations.

To be pioneers in reforming and improving global governance, it is necessary to conform to the trend of democratization of international relations, safeguard the core authority of the United Nations, defend the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, resist all kinds of protectionism, actively participate in the governance of new frontiers such as cyberspace, outer space and the deep sea, and effectively enhance the voice of Global South countries. 

This complete set of guidelines outlines the evolutionary path of BRICS from a cooperation platform for emerging markets to an important force in global governance.

Looking back at China's three terms as BRICS chair, each hosting of the leaders' meeting left behind landmark achievements. 

At the 2011 Sanya summit, BRICS completed its first expansion, with South Africa formally joining, thus establishing the five-nation cooperation framework. The summit focused on advocating reform of global economic governance and increasing the voice of emerging economies in the international financial system, significantly raising BRICS' international weight. 

The 2017 Xiamen summit opened BRICS' second "golden decade," established the "three-wheel drive" cooperation architecture of economic and trade and financial affairs, political and security affairs, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and pioneered the "BRICS Plus" cooperation model, building dialogue channels with the broader developing world. 

With the launch of the New Industrial Revolution Partnership, a large number of practical projects were implemented, and the coverage and influence of BRICS cooperation achieved leapfrog growth.

The 2022 Beijing summit took place in a special period marked by multiple intertwined crises. 

The summit issued the Beijing Declaration and concurrently held the High-level Dialogue on Global Development, linking BRICS cooperation with the global development cause. All parties strengthened coordination on food, energy, supply chains and public health, reinforced cooperation mechanisms such as the New Development Bank (NDB) and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, and deepened consensus in the security field, laying a solid intellectual and institutional foundation for a new round of historic BRICS expansion. 

The three rounds of hosting practice fully demonstrate China's contribution: providing value guidance with the BRICS spirit, consolidating the foundation of practical cooperation through institutions and mechanisms, adhering to openness and expansion to enlarge BRICS' circle of friends, and enriching the public opinion soil for cooperation through diverse people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

In 2027, China will assume the BRICS rotating chair for the fourth time, host the 19th BRICS Summit, and officially open BRICS' third "golden decade." 

In the new cycle, the first task is to consolidate the outcomes of expansion, improve the integration mechanism for new members, optimize the operating rules of expanded BRICS cooperation, and ensure the unity and efficient operation of the big family. 

At the economic trade and financial level, it is necessary to continue advancing local currency settlement, strengthen the investment and financing functions of the NDB, deepen cooperation in green finance, the digital economy, and industrial chains, and help partner countries withstand external financial risks.

At the security and diplomatic level, it is necessary to strengthen coordination on hotspot issues, adhere to resolving differences through dialogue and consultation, and practice the concept of common security. 

In the field of global governance, it is necessary to continue promoting the transformation of the governance system, amplify the voice of the Global South, rely on "BRICS Plus" to focus on practical challenges such as poverty reduction, food and energy security, and public health, and push development issues back to the center of the international agenda. At the same time, it is necessary to continue expanding youth, scientific research, media and local exchanges, so that BRICS cooperation takes root among the people.