Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: mfa.gov.cn

China is confident in the future development of BRICS cooperation, a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday, after the BRICS memberships of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran and Ethiopia officially took effect.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that since its inception 18 years ago, BRICS cooperation mechanism has increased cohesiveness and influence and become a positive and stable force for good in international affairs.

The fact that BRICS now has 10 member states shows exactly its bright prospect, said Wang.

"BRICS decided to expand its membership, which serves the common aspiration of emerging markets and developing countries, and follows the global trend towards multipolarity. We will work with BRICS partners to strive for new results in greater BRICS cooperation," the spokesperson noted.

BRICS, originally comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, got five new members, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia on Monday. Argentina was also due to join BRICS on Monday after receiving an invitation in August 2023. However, newly elected President Javier Milei announced on Friday that Argentina would not join the BRICS framework of developing economies.

Although Milei stated that the moment was not "opportune" for Argentina to join as a full member, he said that he will seek to "intensify bilateral ties" with BRICS countries to increase "trade and investment flows."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the BRICS group of major emerging economies is attracting further support from "like-minded countries" sharing its underlying principles as his country assumed the bloc's chairmanship for 2024.

In a statement published by the Kremlin, Putin said these underlying principles are "sovereign equality, respect for the chosen path of development, mutual consideration of interests, openness, consensus, the aspiration to form a multipolar international order and a fair global financial and trade system, and the pursuit of collective solutions to top challenges of our time."

"We will spare no effort to ensure that, while preserving traditions and being guided by the experience gained by the association in years past, we facilitate the harmonious integration of new participants in all formats of its activities," Putin said.

In a survey the Global Times conducted from December 4 to 15 in 2023, 96.7 percent of the respondents agreed that the expansion of BRICS membership is positive. The expansion process of the BRICS mechanism has further strengthened the voice of the Global South. Over 95.1 percent of the respondents believe that the Global South could become an important force influencing the global development pattern in the next 10 years. 

Feng Xingke, secretary general of the World Financial Forum and director of the Center for BRICS and Global Governance, said that the Global South has become an important force influencing the international political and economic landscape, which is an unchangeable fact and trend. Global South members adopt a positive non-alignment policy, and their strategic autonomy is continuously strengthening, which will play an important role and have an impact on the multipolar global governance pattern and the democratization of international relations.

Global Times