Amid weak global recovery, China bats for BRICS unity
June 4, 2015, 7:16 am

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on 3rd June 2015 [Image: MFA, Russia]

“Against the background of weak world economic recovery and increasing hotspot issues, the BRICS countries should unite for the promotion of world peace and security, and the democratization of international relations,” Wang told his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Moscow must ‘push forward the signing and implementation of relevant documents at the summits’, the Chinese Foreign Minister said referring to the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summits in the Russian city of Ufa in July.

Russia holds the rotating chairs of the two blocs this year.

At the BRICS leaders summit this year, the five countries would focus on “an economic partnership strategy and the blueprint of practical cooperation”, said Wang. This includes “climate change negotiations, financial system reform and cybersecurity”, he added.

Russia expects to launch the $100-billion BRICS New Development Bank along with a currency reserve pool worth another $100 billion at the July summit in Ufa, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We expect to reach agreement in Ufa on the launch of practical operations of the BRICS Bank and a pool of currency reserves,” Putin said last week.

Putin recalled that the BRICS was created in 2006 under Russia’s initiative, and that the group “has already become an influential factor in world policy and economy.”

The BRICS bank seen as rival to the existing US-led institutions, the IMF and World Bank, will finance infrastructure projects and ensure the sustainable development of the group and other developing countries.

On Wednesday, the Chinese Foreign Minister also supported Putin’s claims yesterday that China and Russia would continue promoting the linking of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union with Beijing’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.

Wang is in Russia to attend a Foreign Ministers meeting of the China-Russia led regional security bloc SCO.

TBP