Champion of Globalization

Chinese leader ends meeting of emerging nations with appeal to step up efforts to achieve a more open and fairer economic order. China called for more support for free trade and a more open global economy as it wrapped up a summit of the world’s leading emerging market economies yesterday.

BRICS

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as "BRIC" (or "the BRICs"), before the induction of South Africa in 2010.

The BRICS members are all leading developing or newly industrialized countries, but they are distinguished by their large, sometimes fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional affairs; all five are G-20 members. Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits.

Analysis

Addressing a summit for the BRICS nations which also include Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa on Tuesday in Xiamen, President Xi Jinping said, “emerging markets and developing countries would be the major engine for driving global growth but were confronted with more complicated and severe external situations.”

He pledged US$500 million to help developing countries deal with challenges such as famine, refugees, climate change and public health.

“The economic downward risks and uncertainties are on the rise, multinational trade talks are facing setbacks, the implementation of the Paris Agreement is facing difficulties,” he said.

US President Donald Trump recently withdrew America from the Paris Agreement to combat global warming.

Xi did not name any countries, but said “some nations were less willing to take part in global cooperation, adding that their increasing focus on their own internal affairs had a knock-on effect on.

He told leaders from BRICS members and five countries invited as guests – Mexico, Egypt, Thailand, Guinea and Tajikistan – that they should build an open economy and oppose protectionism and rebalance globalisation to make it more sustainable.

Xi Jinping’s main focus is on globalisation. On 17 January 2017, he launched a robust defence of globalisation and free trade. “The problems troubling the world are not caused by globalisation,” Xi Jinping said in an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “They are not the inevitable outcome of globalisation.” Even during his speech at the opening of OBOR on May 15, Xi urged countries across the globe to join hands with him in pursuit of globalization.

Assessment

Our assessment is that President Xi is encouraging BRIC countries to continue globalisation and free trade. Developed economies like the US needs significant amount of money to prop up their infrastructure, hence will not be able to lend it to emerging countries like India. China wants to fill this gap and become both a lender and aggregator for world trade. We believe that the Mr Xi is positioning himself as the leader of the new world order.

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BRICS Summit commences