Trade & investment cooperation to be enhanced in BRICS Xiamen Summit

2017-09-04
People’s Daily Online

Leaders of five BRICS countries will adopt consensus and proposals on consolidating the partnership in trade and investment cooperation, which were achieved ahead of their annual meeting this year, said a senior official on Sept 3 in Xiamen.

Contributing 23 percent of global economic output and half of world economic growth, BRICS nations play an increasingly significant role in driving the global economy and governance, said Wang Shouwen, vice commerce minister, in a news conference held in Xiamen.

However, the mutual investment among the five countries lagged behind, making up only six percent of their total outbound investment. China, who took over the rotating BRICS presidency this year, brought trade ministers together last month in Shanghai to address this gap.

Ministers all agreed to expedite the economic integration within BRICS countries and proposed guideline and measures on trade facilitation, e-commerce, capacity building and intellectual property protection.

The consensus and proposals are expected to be reaffirmed by leaders of BRICS nations and would help yield more significant outcomes from the summit, Wang said. He also stressed that the new measures would not only bring the intra-BRICS cooperation to the next level, but also enhance the partnership’s competitiveness in the broader global market.