Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The establishment of the BRICS Development Bank is an important symbol of deepened strategic cooperation of emerging countries in global politics. As Gideon Rachman, a columnist with the UK's Financial Times, noted in an opinion piece earlier this year, "The rise of non-Western economies is a deeply rooted historic shift that can survive any number of shocks."

Though many Western countries are keen on discussing topics like "the broken BRICS," Chinese leaders hold different views.

In the part of China's foreign policy of the report for the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, BRICS was listed as one of the four multilateral international organizations along with the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the G20 that are worth particular attention and policy input.

The development of BRICS is exerting increasingly significant influence upon Beijing's holistic diplomatic architecture.

BRICS is playing a more important role in China's attempts to develop an open economy and broaden outbound economic cooperation.

In 2012, the trade volume between China and other BRICS countries accounted for 7.8 percent of the former's total foreign trade volume. In the same period it witnessed a 31.8 percent growth in the trade volume with South Africa and 11.2 percent growth with Russia. Its non-financial outward investment in the other four BRICS countries mounted to nearly $20 billion in the same year.

Plus, BRICS nations share profound and extensive common interests in reforming global economic governance. China must, as always, depend on the developing world represented by BRICS in the process of participating in and even affecting economic governance in the international community.

BRICS is taking on a greater role of coordinating positions and promoting dialogues in addressing regional and international hot spot issues like the Syrian crisis. Beijing needs to mull over how to creatively engage on important issues using BRICS as an important platform and lever.

Despite relatively smooth development of its relations with the other four BRICS nations, China cannot afford to ignore or underestimate corresponding challenges.

China is in a similar development stage to the other four countries of BRICS, which consequently leads to competition with them in some industries.

In addition, as a consumer of bulk commodities, Beijing needs to face rivalries of interests with exporters like Russia and Brazil.

Under the WTO framework, around 70 percent of trade-related complaints against China were lodged by developing countries including India and Brazil in recent years.

It is fair to say that China is the preeminent power among the BRICS nations, which may solicit suspicion of and vigilance against Beijing's dominance of this cooperation mechanism. China's aggregate GDP exceeded the total of the other four BRICS states in 2012. It is the largest trade partner of Russia, Brazil and South Africa and the second largest of India.

There are also apparent differences between China and the other four nations in political system, social values and cultural tradition. Simmering rows over territorial sovereignty remain unsettled. And China, India and Brazil also need to adjust their Africa policies to avoid unnecessary contention there.

China should play a guiding role instead of a dominant one in the development of BRICS and beef up collaboration with the other four countries in a low-key and prudent manner.

Improving global economic governance remains a strategic pillar for the stable development of BRICS. Beijing should start from its own needs and development advantages, and put forward cooperation initiatives in the arenas of infrastructure, finance, manufacture, trade and investment and people-to-people exchanges.

Inclusive and sustainable development is the common objective of the BRICS countries, and it is a basic agreement that founding an anti-Western bloc is in no way conducive to achieving this goal. Beijing can serve as a bridge to bring the developed world and the developing one closer.

The author is a research fellow with the Charhar Institute and an adjunct fellow with the Center for International and Strategic Studies, Peking University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn