International scholars, experts applaud Xi's speech at BRICS Business Forum

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Sept. 4 -- International scholars and experts have highly commented on the speech delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum in southeast China's Xiamen City on Sunday.

Xi said in the speech that there are three important practices that should be carried forward in reviewing the past progress of BRICS cooperation -- first, treating each other as equals and seeking common ground while shelving differences; second, taking a results-oriented, innovative approach to make BRICS cooperation benefit all; and third, developing BRICS itself to help others with the well-being of the world in mind.

The three important practices have been summarized as the three-point BRICS spirit.

"The three-point BRICS spirit reflects the state of regional and international equations, as well as the state of development in the BRICS countries," said B. R. Deepak, Sinologist and professor at the Center of the Chinese and Southeastern Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University of India.

"I believe it's also in sync with China's foreign policy goals, as China has advocated that irrespective of differences in social systems, level of development, and the size of countries we must treat each other as equal, seek commonalities and reserve differences, BRICS not being an exception," said Deepak.

"This would enable the members to minimize their differences and maximize political trust... the spirit of BRICS will foster partnership rather than building alliances, it will foster dialogue over confrontation," said Deepak.

"The three-point BRICS spirit certainly provided some answers to our common problems," said Deepak.

The three-point spirit is very crucial for the establishment of any effective partnership, said Stephen Ndegwa, lecturer at Multimedia University and public policy analyst in Kenya.

The three-point spirit for BRICS stressed by Xi is very important for BRCIS countries' vision to support world peace and stability better and keep consistency when they strive for their development goals, said Gerishon Ikiara, lecturer of International Economics lecturer at University of Nairobi.

Each point of the spirit is very important, as the world peace and security is currently under threat, said Ikiara, adding that the BRICS countries are playing a more important role in world affairs.

Earlier before the BRICS Business Forum opened, Brazil economist Ronnie Lins told Xinhua in Brazil that the BRICS Business Forum would be a very important sideline event when the BRICS Summit was held in Xiamen, which aims to strengthen exchanges and dialogue among business leaders of BRICS countries and enhance trade among BRICS members.

He said that the BRICS Business Forum in Xiamen, the largest one in the BRICS history, was sure to score positive outcomes.

At the forum, President Xi called on the BRICS bloc to expand the coverage of its cooperation, and that can only benefit the people of those countries, said Iqbal Surve, chairman of South Africa BRICS Business Council.

Also speaking of the BRICS spirit proposed by Xi at the BRICS Business Forum, Singaporean economist Koh Chin Yee said that it is very important for BRICS countries to treat each other as equals, seek common ground and shelve differences, as there are discrepancies, differences and competitions among BRICS countries.

China is a very active and influential member of BRICS, which is pushing ahead the construction of BRICS mechanism, and China's role is very weighty in BRICS, he said.

Li Renliang, professor at Thailand's National Institute of Development Administration, said Xi's speech reflected China's willingness to strengthen and deepen cooperation within the BRICS mechanism.

Li also said BRICS countries, in the past 10 years, carried out effective cooperation based on the principle of equality in such major global affairs as climate change, U.N. reform and poverty reduction.

BRICS is more than a mechanism, Li said, it is a bridge for South-North dialogue and South-South cooperation.

The reality that the BRICS countries are of different national situations, at different stages of development and of various cultures and faiths does not have a negative impact on their practical cooperation. Instead, it has boosted the principle of "seeking common ground while shelving differences" and encourages sound cooperation between the five countries in the past 10 years, he said.

Guo Shengxiang, dean of the Academy of APECCreative Finance, an Australian think tank, listed that over the past decade, the BRICS countries have contributed more than half of global growth, and that their total volume of trade and overseas investment accounts for 16 percent and 12 percent of the world's total, up from 11 percent and 7 percent in 2006.

The numbers testify to the importance of the supporting role the mechanism has played for other developing countries as a whole, he said.

Meanwhile, all being developing countries, the five have common interests in lower tariffs, less tariff barriers and more feasibility in global trade and investment, Guo said. Therefore, there is a sound foundation for their cooperation in tariff and fee reform, according to him.