Opinion: Xiamen BRICS summit to aid India-China relations

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China will host the 9th Annual Summit of BRICS in the southeast China’s coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian Province on September 3-5, 2017 in its capacity as chair of the influential bloc which is comprised of five countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

It is expected that China and India as major countries with great influence in the five-member bloc should boost mutual cooperation, and set a vision for the China-India relations despite ongoing frictions.

The BRICS countries are home to 43 percent of the world’s population with a combined GDP of over US$16 trillion, contributing more than half of global growth.

It is hoped this year's summit will produce more practical and concrete cooperation and improve trust and confidence among BRICS nations.

(L-R) Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma pose for a group photo during the BRICS Summit in Goa on October 16, 2016. /AFP Photo‍

The BRICS countries are seen as an engine of world economic growth. Together, the five countries have been the source of more than half of global growth in the past ten years. As per the words of Chinese President Xi Jinping, "The BRICS countries are the champions of the emerging countries and developing countries.”

"BRICS: Stronger partnership for a brighter future" is the theme China has chosen which mirrors the implementation of previous commitments flowing from the past BRICS summits.

It is hoped that the Xiamen summit will bring together the leaders of all the five countries.

It is important to note here that on July 28, while meeting with heads of the delegations for the 7th Meeting of BRICS High Representatives for Security Issues, Xi said that BRICS cooperation will usher in its second "golden decade" as long as the five members make joint efforts for closer ties with the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, cooperation and win-win.

China’s eastern coastal city Xiamen /VCG Photo

However, the 9th BRICS summit is taking place against the backdrop of deteriorating China-India relations following the ongoing standoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Donglang area of the Sikkim sector of the China-India border, making it the longest stalemate between the two militaries in recent years. (It was reported at 15:10 BJT on August 28 that the border standoff between the two countries was over after India withdrew its military personnel from Chinese territory.)

Both China and India are major rising forces among BRICS countries. The two countries are the second and seventh largest world economies, respectively, ranking the second and first in terms of growth rate, and first and third in terms of contribution to world economic growth.

From the Indian perspective, it is expected that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a detailed bilateral discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to normalize heated relations with China.

Indian troops trespassed into Chinese territory on June 18. /MOFA Photo

The two leaders last met in the BRICS leaders meeting on the sidelines of the G20 meetings in Hamburg on June 7, 2017. They complimented each other's nation’s roles in furthering the objectives of the BRICS grouping and the fight against terrorism. Modi appreciated the momentum in BRICS under the chairmanship of President Xi and extended his full cooperation for the grouping’s upcoming 9th summit a success.

On the other hand, President Xi appreciated India's strong resolve against terrorism and the momentum in BRICS introduced under India's chairmanship and through the outcomes of the Goa Summit in 2016. He also appreciated India's success in economic and social development and wished India an even bigger success. This shows that both China and India attach utmost importance to their engagement with BRICS enhancing all-round cooperation with each other.

Undoubtedly, the upcoming 9th BRICS summit will be a great chance for India where its voice will be heard by all countries. It can be said that India needs BRICS more than China does. BRICS has provided a platform for India to become an international rule-maker.

As two big neighboring countries, India and China are the two most vital powers within the BRICS countries. Both countries are now members of basically all international organizations and institutions and significant investors in almost all regions of the world.

New Development Bank (NDB) has 23 projects at various stages of preparation with a total lending amount of 6 billion US dollars, of which seven are in Brazil, six are in India, five in China, three in South Africa and two in Russia. /CGTN Photo

Since 2009, India and China have been working closely together within BRICS as it is important for the world's two largest developing countries to speak common voices in the multilateral arena.

More importantly, India can use BRICS to strengthen its relations with the stronger economic actor China, if it wants to attract Chinese investment via the New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. It will also be better for India to maintain its relationship with Russia, Brazil, South Africa and other developing nations through the BRICS mechanism.

It is encouraging to see that, as the holder of the BRICS presidency China has held a series of events this year such as the BRICS Sherpa meeting in Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in Beijing, BRICS Media Forum in Beijing, BRICS Seminar on Governance in Quanzhou of Fujian Province, BRICS Youth Forum in Beijing, 7th Meeting of BRICS Trade Ministers in Shanghai, 2nd BRICS Film Festival in Chengdu, BRICS Games in Guangzhou, to mention a few, under the BRICS framework and India has actively participated in many of them.

(This piece was originally published on China.org.cn. The author is secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners' Club, West Bengal, India. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.)

Source(s): China.org.cn