BRICS a defender of multilaterism amid hegemonism, experts say

Experts said the statement delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the virtual BRICS Summit shows that BRICS stands as a stabilizer amid ongoing uncertainties and a defender of multilateralism under the threat of hegemonism and unilateralism.

President Xi on Monday attended a virtual BRICS Summit and delivered an important statement, calling on BRICS countries to forge ahead in solidarity and cooperation.

"Trade wars and tariff wars waged by some country severely disrupt the world economy and undermine international trade rules. At this critical juncture, BRICS countries, standing at the forefront of the Global South, should act on the BRICS Spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, jointly defend multilateralism and the multilateral trading system, advance greater BRICS cooperation, and build a community with a shared future for humanity," Xi said.

Francisco Dominguez, a former head of the Centre for Brazilian and Latin American Studies at Middlesex University in London, said that the speech by President Xi at Monday's BRICS virtual meeting is a very opportune rallying call to BRICS leaders to act, for the Global South as a whole, to defend what has been achieved in building a multipolar world under threat from an ever-intensifying hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism.

"As a Chinese saying goes, 'It takes a good blacksmith to forge good steel'. We can only cope with external challenges more effectively when we manage our own affairs well in the first place," said President Xi, adding that China is ready to work with fellow BRICS countries to implement the Global Development Initiative and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Dominguez said that as the good blacksmith of the proverb, President Xi called on BRICS nations to organize their action around specific and concrete proposals on global governance, global development and high-quality BRI cooperation.

Lewis Ndichu, a researcher at Nairobi-based think tank Africa Policy Institute, said that for Africa, BRICS cooperation could create space for diversifying partnerships.

President Xi's emphasis on solidarity, cooperation, and the Belt and Road Initiative during the virtual BRICS Summit positions BRICS as an important participant in global governance, Ndichu said.

BRICS is shifting toward a more institutionalized mechanism for crisis response particularly in the face of tariff wars and geopolitical shocks, he noted. "This offers a chance for Africa to engage BRICS not just as a trade and investment partner, but as a stabilizing framework that can cushion vulnerable economies against external disruptions."

Yang Ran in Beijing contributed to this story.