President Xi Jinping and other leaders of BRICS countries pose for a group photo before the Ninth BRICS Summit in Xiamen, in Southeast China's Fujian province, on Monday. The five leaders then took up many issues at the start of the event. WU ZHIYI / CHINA DAILY

China pledges 500m yuan for cooperative ventures

China will set aside 500 million yuan ($76.61 million) for economic and technological cooperation and exchanges among BRICS countries, President Xi Jinping said on Monday while calling for joint efforts to open the bloc's second "Golden Decade".

In his speech addressing the plenary session of the BRICS Summit, Xi also announced an injection of $4 million into the project preparation fund of the BRICS-led New Development Bank for the bank's operation and long-term development.

During the session, attended by Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Jacob Zuma, Xi said the key to the rapid development of BRICS is that the five countries have adopted the right approach for cooperation since the bloc was founded in 2006.

"A partnership forged with the right approach defies geographical distance; it is thicker than glue and stronger than metal and stone," Xi said, quoting an ancient Chinese proverb.

Although the five countries have different national conditions, their pursuit of partnership and prosperity is shared, enabling them to go beyond disagreement and achieve mutual benefits, he said.

Xi called on the BRICS countries to strengthen their compatibility regarding resources, markets and labor forces to release the countries' growth potential.

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the plenary session during the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Fujian province on September 4, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

After their meeting, the BRICS leaders issued the Xiamen Declaration, in which the five countries pledged to energize practical cooperation, foster a just and equitable global economic order, safeguard world peace and promote people-to-people exchanges.

Noting that only 5.7 percent of the BRICS countries' total $197 billion outbound investment took place among the five countries last year, Xi said that there remains huge potential for economic cooperation among the BRICS members.

The president pointed out that the "gold content" of BRICS has been rising constantly in recent years along with such measures as boosting service trade, facilitating investment, initiating e-commerce cooperation, and strengthening ties on innovation.

The five countries should increase cooperation in sectors such as trade and investment, monetary and financial areas, connectivity, sustainable development, innovation and industrial cooperation, Xi said.

"We should speak with one voice and jointly present our solutions to issues concerning international peace and development," Xi said, adding that many pressing global challenges cannot be resolved effectively without the participation of BRICS countries.

In his speech, the president also recalled people-to-people exchanges among the five countries, such as the BRICS Games, the BRICS Film Festival, the BRICS Culture Festival and the High-Level Meeting on Traditional Medicine.

"We hope that through our joint efforts, these activities will take place regularly and be institutionalized," he said.

Mentioning his letter sent to the leaders of the BRICS countries in January, Xi said that BRICS cooperation is set to play an even bigger role in international affairs.

"Let us set sail from Xiamen and join hands to usher in the second 'Golden Decade' of BRICS cooperation and deliver greater benefits to the people of our five countries and around the world," he said.