BRICS countries become important force on int'l stage to be reckoned with: Xi

Photo taken on Sept. 8, 2021 shows models of jets during an exhibition on BRICS New Industrial Revolution held in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that the BRICS countries have become an important force on the international stage to be reckoned with.

Xi made the remarks in Beijing while addressing the 13th BRICS summit via video link.

Over the past 15 years, the five countries have enhanced strategic communication and political trust in the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and equality, respected each other's social system and development path, and explored a sound way for countries to interact with each other, Xi said.

While seeking synergy between their development policies and drawing on their complementarities, the five countries have made solid progress in various areas of cooperation in the spirit of pragmatism, innovation and win-win cooperation, and have forged ahead on the common journey of development, Xi said.

The five countries have supported multilateralism and taken part in global governance in the spirit of equity, justice, and mutual assistance, he said.

"What has happened shows that come what may, we can make smooth, solid and sustained progress in BRICS cooperation as long as we pull our minds and our efforts," he added.