SCIO briefing on BRICS opportunities, challenges and prospects

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SCIO briefing on BRICS opportunities, challenges and prospects

Speakers:
Zhang Yansheng, chief research fellow of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges
Zhang Jianping, deputy director of Academic Steering Committee, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce

Chairperson:
Xi Yanchun, vice director-general of the Press Bureau, State Council Information Office

Date:
August 28, 2017

Zhang Jianping:

As a matter of fact, anti-globalization sentiments are more prevalent in developed countries. For BRICS countries, we are very aware that globalization offers us real development opportunities, and that won't stop. President Xi had made that very clear at the World Economic Forum earlier this year, and I'd better not repeat it.

Take the climate change negotiations as an example. Over the past two decades or so, we BRICS nations have upheld the interests of developing countries in the negotiations despite our minor differences. We had talked with developed countries for a long time, which eventually landed us at the Paris Agreement. We believe all BRICS nations will continue to promote its implementation.

Another example is trade. A statement issued after a BRICS ministerial meeting earlier this year included a commitment to continue facilitating trade and investment and abnegation of trade protectionism. I believe we can still reach consensus on this issue this time. Some people say that India and Brazil have launched a slew of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures against China, which I think have to do with their attempt to protect their domestic market due to the weakness in their own industrial development and product competitiveness. But this is not the dominant practice in trade; we should look at the prevailing trend (of trade cooperation), which is evidenced by the 70 to 80 billion U.S. dollars of trade between China and India and between China and Brazil.

So, in short, trade friction remains a major conflict between developed and developing countries, because industrial manufacturing is being transported to the developing countries, resulting in an increased deficit for developed countries and an increasing surplus for developing countries.

Among the BRICS countries, we are promoting trade cooperation, economic cooperation, and industrial chain cooperation while resolving conflicts and frictions. With China accelerating investment into other BRICS countries, future trade frictions will gradually be reduced, and the global value chain cooperation will be strengthened. Thank you.

Xi Yanchun:

We'll wind up today's briefing for reasons of time. Thanks for our two experts who have joined us and thanks to you all.

By Li Xiaohua, Guo Xiaohong, Chen Xia, Li Jingrong, Zhou Jing, Wu Jin, Zhang Rui, Wang Wei, Ma Yujia, Zhang Lulu, Xu Lin, He Shan, Li Huiru