BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Having stepped into their second "golden decade," BRICS countries are advancing complementary cooperation and taking the lead in the development of emerging markets and developing countries, experts said.
The basis for BRICS cooperation is generally solid due to their highly diversified and complementary industrial structures, which keeps empowering BRICS cooperation, Wang Lei, director of the BRICS Cooperation Center of Beijing Normal University, said in an interview with Xinhua.
Located on four continents, each of the five countries has its own advantages in industrial structure, according to Wang. "Russia is a powerhouse of heavy industry, oil and gas resources, while India has strong service industries. Brazil is strong in agriculture and mining and South Africa in non-ferrous metals."
He pointed out that the BRICS members may consolidate their positions in global value chains and industrial chains through industrial cooperation.
"With shared aspirations, the five countries are eager to have more say and influence in the international system," Wang said. "This vision cannot be fulfilled by a single nation but with the combined strengths of BRICS."
BRICS countries have been growing in economic strength. In 2018, they accounted for 23.52 percent of the world economy and 16.28 percent of global trade, according to statistics.
China is expanding its market opening-up and promoting multilateral trade, Wang said, citing the just-concluded China International Import Expo as a good example of opportunities created by China's steadily growing economy.
Echoing Wang's thoughts, Liang Ming, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, said China is the largest trading partner of the other four countries, and the country's stable development means sustainable benefits as they can tap into the huge market by expanding their exports to China.
He noted that BRICS countries have cooperation frameworks in over a dozen areas, including trade, finance, agriculture and education.
In Finance area, BRICS countries have established the New Development Bank and cooperated in financial facilitation and currency swap, he said.
As BRICS leaders met in Brasilia, analysts expected the countries to strengthen collaboration to cope with common challenges such as economic slowdown and trade protectionism.
Calling the BRICS mechanism "a fruit of multilateral cooperation," Wang said one of the most significant principles of the mechanism is reaching consensus through consultation.
"Equality is another key principle of BRICS cooperation," he said, adding that "the New Development Bank, for instance, has voting rights and shares equally divided among the five countries."
"There is no such thing as the minority obeying the majority or pitting one against another within the BRICS bloc," Wang said.
