Xiamen summit set to boost BRICS partnership

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The 9th BRICS Summit – bringing together leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - takes place in the Chinese southeastern coastal city of Xiamen September 3-5.

Xiamen is located in southeast China's Fujian Province, across from Taiwan. /BRICS2017.org Photo

The theme of this year’s meeting is “BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future”.

On January 1, as China took over the BRICS chairmanship, President Xi Jinping wrote to his counterparts urging deeper cooperation on a wide range of fields, from trade and developmental goals to security, culture and education; sustained efforts to improve global financial institutions; and closer coordination with international organizations like the UN, World Bank, IMF and WTO, but also other developing countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping presides over an informal leaders' meeting of BRICS in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

China’s goal is that “with a deepened partnership, BRICS countries will take South-South cooperation to a new high…and open up a brighter future for economic development and social progress of all developing countries…,” the official BRICS website said.

Over the past ten years, the BRICS nations, representing around 43 percent of the world’s population, have contributed more than half of the world's economic growth and have achieved pragmatic cooperation in areas such as trade, finance, agriculture and technology.

Population and GDP of the BRICS countries. /CGTN Photo

BRICS summits have been held annually since 2009, and the venue for this year’s event is the island city of Xiamen in southeast China’s Fujian Province.

Known as the “Garden on the Sea,” Xiamen is a popular tourist destination, set in a picturesque bay surrounded by vast, turquoise waters.

The city is dotted with luxuriant vegetation and vast turquoise waters. /BRICS2017.org Photo

It is also a key port and trade center and is the ancestral home of many overseas Chinese, whose forefathers departed for Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia or the Philippines almost a century ago.

Now, the city is home to 3.92 million residents, who benefit from a monsoon climate that ensures warm temperatures all year round, along with ample sun, heavy rain and an abundance of vegetation.

Gulangyu Island, one of the most coveted tourist destination in China. /BRICS2017.org Photo

A melting pot of oriental and exotic cultures, Xiamen saw its Gulangyu Island added to the UNESCO list of Cultural Heritage sites in July.