PLATFORMS
The BRICS countries have witnessed a decade-long successful cooperation since its first meeting of foreign ministers, which has now developed into an influential platform for emerging economies.
Schemes including the New Development Bank (NDB), which was initiated in 2014, display coordinated efforts of the five nations to reform the global economic governance.
The bank, formally opened in July last year in Shanghai, has witnessed remarkable progress.
Three months after it was established, the NDB announced it had successfully issued its first bonds worldwide to raise funds for clean energy projects in member states. The five-year green bonds, denominated in the Chinese currency renminbi or Chinese yuan, are worth 3 billion yuan (449 million U.S. dollars).
At the same time, economic ties within the BRICS framework have also been deepened since the bloc's debut summit was held in 2009.
Statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce show that in the last seven years until 2014, trade volume between the BRICS countries reached an annual growth rate of 17 percent, which is a lot more than the annual growth rate of global trade in the same period.
It also shows that China is currently the largest trading partner of Brazil, Russia and South Africa.
Furthermore, the shared interests also expanded after China proposed the Road and Belt Initiative in 2013. The program received warm welcome from the BRICS countries.
"China is a staunch supporter and participant of the BRICS mechanism, and takes the BRICS cooperation as one of its diplomatic priorities," Xi said. "We believe the BRICS cooperation will forcefully promote world peace, stability and prosperity."
As an old Chinese saying goes: "Pure gold does not fear furnace," the BRICS of gold will still continue to glitter.
