TheauthorisaseniorresearcherwiththeCharharInstituteandaresearcherwiththeInstituteofWest-AsianandAfricanStudies,ChineseAcademyofSocialSciencesWiththeconveningofthe10thBRICSSummitinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica,onJuly25-27,theworld鈥檚gazewasfixedonacooperationmechanismthatconsistsofemergingmarketsanddevelopingcountries,withmembersfromAsia,Africa,EuropeandSouthAmerica.
TheBRICSmechanismcameintobeingatatimewhentheworldwasundergoingprofoundchanges.WhenformerChairmanofGoldmanSachsAssetManagementJimO鈥橬eilcoinedtheBRICacronym(Brazil,Russia,IndiaandChina)in2001,itwasonlyaconceptclassifyingthemostpotentialandattractiveemergingmarketsformultinationalsaccordingtotheireconomicindicators,suchaspopulation,resources,marketpotentialandeconomicgrowth.WiththerapidriseinstrengthofdevelopingcountriesandtheincreaseofSouth-Southcooperation,ithasnowdevelopedintoanewplatformforemergingmarketsanddevelopingcountriestostrengthenmultilateralconsultationandcooperation.
GatewaytoAfrica
ThoughalatecomertotheBRICSpartnership,SouthAfrica,theonlyAfricancountryinthegroup,isplayinganincreasinglyimportantroleinfacilitatingBRICS-Africacooperation.ItsinclusioninBRICSreflectsothermembernations鈥檙ecognitionofthecontinent鈥檚risingstatusanddevelopmentpotentialinthecomingyears.
Intermsofeconomicaggregate,SouthAfrica鈥檚GDPaccountsfornearlyaquarterofAfrica,butisstillconsiderablylesscomparedwithotherBRICSmembersataboutaquarterofRussia鈥檚,whichitselfwasthelowestoftheformerBRICgroup.Despitethis,SouthAfricaservesasanimportantgatewayforotherBRICScountriestostrengthenmutuallybeneficialcooperationwiththeAfricancontinent.
AlongwiththeexpansionofBRICS鈥檊eographiccoverage,SouthAfrica鈥檚membershipalsoreflectsthegroup鈥檚visionwhichnowextendsbeyondtheoriginalscopeofeconomiccooperationtomuchbroaderareas,suchasinternationalpoliticsandgeostrategicstructures.Ithasbecomeaplatformforcomprehensivedialogueandcollaborationamongemergingmarketsanddevelopingnations.
BRICScountriesoccupyimportantpositionsintheglobalpoliticalandeconomicstructure.ChinaandRussiaaretwopermanentmembersoftheUNSecurityCouncil,whileBrazil,IndiaandSouthAfricaareimportantpowersinSouthAmerica,AsiaandAfrica.Economically,thecombinedGDPofthefivecountriesis20percentoftheworldtotal.Theircombinedterritoryandpopulationaccountfor30percentand43percentoftheworld,respectively.Giventhis,itisnaturalforthemechanismtotranscendeconomiccooperationandtakeonabroadervision.
Mutualsupport
ThankstocloseeconomicandtradecooperationbetweenBRICSandAfricancountries,AfricahassuccessfullyemergedfromtheinternationalfinancialcrisisandthewakeofunrestinNorthAfrica,andisnowintheprocessofrapidrecovery.AfricaneconomiesandBRICSnationsaresupportingeachotherthroughmutuallybeneficialcooperativeprogramstoachievesustainabledevelopment.Inlittlemorethanadecade,BRICScountrieshavenotonlycontributed50percenttoworldeconomicgrowth,butpromotedAfrica鈥檚developmentthroughtradeandinvestment,makinggreatcontributionstopovertyreductioninAfricaandaroundtheworld.
AnotherachievementistheestablishmentoftheNewDevelopmentBank(NDB),whichcameintooperationonJuly21,2015,andthelaunchofitsAfricaRegionalCenter(ARC)inJohannesburginAugust2017.TheNDBiscommittedtosupportinginfrastructureconstructionandgreenenergydevelopment.Sourcesindicatethatitwillgrantloansof$1.5billiontoSouthAfricaoverthenext18months.
DrivenbytheBeltandRoadInitiative,improvinginfrastructureinterconnectivityandstrengtheningindustrialcapacitycooperationhavebecomekeyareasofChina颅Africarelationsinrecentyears.ItisthenewconsensusofbothChinaandAfricannationstopromoteindustrialdevelopmentandreducepovertythroughinvestmentininfrastructure颅relatedprojectsviatheplatformoftheBeltandRoadInitiative
ThelaunchoftheARCreflectsBRICS鈥檚determinationtofulfillitscommitmenttoAfrica鈥檚sustainabledevelopment.Italsoprovidesanopportunityfordevelopingcountriestorealizeindependentfinancialinnovation.Inthefuture,theARCwill,throughitsfinancialcapitalandbackedbyprojectdevelopment,greatlypromoteAfricanintegrationaswellasindustrializationandinfrastructureupgradingonthecontinent.
FOCACandtheBeltandRoad
AsthelargesteconomyintheBRICSassociation,ChinaisspearheadingBRICS-Africacooperation.TobetterpromoteAfricandevelopment,ChinaissynergizingBRICSwithothercooperationplatformsinvolvingAfrica,suchastheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC).
FOCACwasestablishedin2000andhasservedasanimportantengineinpromotingChina-Africacollaborationeversince.FOCACsummitsinBeijingin2006andJohannesburgin2015pushedChina-Africaeconomiccooperationtonewheights.InordertopushforwardAfrica鈥檚industrialization,ChinaalsoestablishedtheChina-AfricaFundforIndustrialCooperationwithstartupcapitalof$10billionandincreasedthecapitaloftheChina-AfricaDevelopmentFundandtheSpecialLoanfortheDevelopmentofAfricanSmallandMedium-SizedEnterprisesby$5billioneach.
BRICSisalsoexpectedtosynergizewiththeBeltandRoadInitiative.ChinesePresidentXiJinpingputforwardtheinitiativein2013,anditaimstobuildatradeandinfrastructurenetworkconnectingAsiawithEuropeandAfricaalongandbeyondtheancientSilkRoadtraderoutes.IthassincebeenreinvigoratingotherregionalcooperationmechanismsinAfrica,withmanycountriesonthecontinententhusiasticaboutparticipatinginBeltandRoadconstruction.ShortlyafterthecloseoftheannualsessionsoftheNationalPeople鈥檚Congress,China鈥檚toplegislature,andtheNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConference,thecountry鈥檚toppoliticaladvisorybody,inMarch,presidentsofCameroon,NamibiaandZimbabwevisitedChinaandexpressedtheirhopesofaligningtheirowndevelopmentstrategieswiththeBeltandRoadInitiative.
DrivenbytheBeltandRoadInitiative,improvinginfrastructureinterconnectivityandstrengtheningindustrialcapacitycooperationhavebecomekeyareasofChina-Africarelationsinrecentyears.ItisthenewconsensusofbothChinaandAfricannationstopromoteindustrialdevelopmentandreducepovertythroughinvestmentininfrastructure-relatedprojectsviatheplatformoftheBeltandRoadInitiative.
China-Africainterconnectivityandindustrialcapacitycooperationhavebeguntoyieldimportantresultsoflate,includingtheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailway,whichopenedinOctober2016,andtheMombasa-NairobiStandardGaugeRailwayinMay2017.Theconstructionofindustrialparksalongtheserailrouteshasalreadyseenpreliminaryachievements.
Followingthe10thBRICSSummitinSouthAfrica,theFOCACBeijingSummitwillconveneinSeptember.ChineseandAfricanleaderswillgathertodiscussChinaAfricacooperationinthenewera.Inthiscontext,theBRICSmechanismisexpectedtosynergizewithFOCACandtheBeltandRoadInitiativetofurtherpromoteAfricandevelopment.
CopyeditedbyFranciscoLittleCommentsto
WorkersmakeclothesintheChina-investedC&HgarmentfactoryinKigali,Rwanda,onApril30.Allthe1,200workersinthefactoryarelocalpeopleXINHUA