Pragmatic cooperation’ among the BRICS requires flexible and open multilateralism in a global system comprised of nation-states that should not meddle in the domestic affairs of other countries.

In the early 2000s, the BRIC economies were projected to surpass the advanced G6 economies by the early 2030s. Today, the huge potential of emerging economies prevails, but the pace has slowed and country trajectories have diverged, thanks to geopolitics.

As Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa assert themselves on the world stage, who is leading this group in a multipolar world?

The BRICS are already driving the world economy. The willingness of representatives of these emerging economies will make a greater contribution to the sustainable and inclusive development of the global economy and to the improvement of global governance.

The 9th Annual BRICS Summit kicked off in Xiamen with President Xi’s keynote speech. He Yafei shares his impressions on the keynote address as well as the important messages conveyed through President Xi’s rhetoric.

He Yafei delineates the achievements of BRICS members, in particular their contribution to the global economy and their ability to transform global governance.

Throughout Xi’s speech, he consistently emphasized cooperation as a means to implement the interests of BRICS, to promote ideas they all share, and to collectively cope with difficulties.

He Yafei dissects President Xi’s speech on BRICS having encountered “headwinds of varying intensity” and what it means both internally and externally for these countries moving forward.

“The world is entering a post-America era,” says He Yafei. With BRICS changing the global governance landscape, He Yafei delves into this new concept and explains the characteristics of such an era.

Going forward, as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa set forth a broad and compelling vision for the next ten years, that vision must be informed by the principles, purposes, associations and ambitions that guided them through their first decade of collaboration and partnership.