Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Cui Xinyu)
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS mechanism will not lose its luster but will shine more brightly if its members stay united, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.
The development of the BRICS mechanism has seen ups and downs over the past years, and each member faces its own set of challenges, Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.
"The BRICS countries are like five fingers, short and long if extended, but a powerful fist if clenched together," Wang said, citing remarks of President Xi Jinping.
This year opens the second decade of the emerging-market bloc which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. China will host the ninth BRICS leaders' summit in September.
As the rotating chair of BRICS this year, China will work with other members to review its experience, plan the future, usher in the second golden decade of BRICS cooperation and provide "BRICS plans" for world peace and development, he said.
This year, the countries will seek breakthroughs in political and security cooperation, making full use of the meeting of national security advisors and negotiating on initiating the first official meeting of foreign ministers, he said.
BRICS countries will expand pragmatic cooperation. "We will fully implement the strategy for BRICS economic partnership, enhance macro policy coordination and connection of development strategies, and work out a batch of solid measures for cooperation," Wang said.
For people-to-people exchanges, the countries will implement the agreements of their leaders to expand all areas of people-to-people exchanges, and build stronger public support for BRICS cooperation.
They will also build a new platform for south-south cooperation, exploring a "BRICS plus" model by holding dialogues with other major developing countries or groups of developing countries to establish a more extensive partnership.
"We will widen the circle of friends of the BRICS and turn it into the most influential platform for south-south cooperation in the world," Wang said.
