China eyes closer BRICS cooperation

BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday called for closer cooperation among the BRICS countries.

Wang made the remarks when he talked to South African, Indian and Russian officials respectively ahead of a BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in Beijing.

In the bilateral meeting with South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Wang said the BRICS countries, faced with increasing uncertainties in the international situation, should unite more closely and play a leading role in building a community of shared future for the mankind.

China stands ready to step up coordination with South Africa to strengthen the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as well as the BRICS mechanism, continuously expand the strategic cooperation between the two countries, and safeguard the common interests of the two nations and all other developing countries.

When talking to India's Minister of State for External Affairs Vijay Kumar Singh, Wang said China and India are both major countries with great influence, and that they should boost cooperation in the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and all other multilateral frameworks to make contribution to peace and stability in the region and the world at large.

When meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Wang said China is willing to deepen coordination with Russia to enhance strategic trust, boost economic and financial cooperation, increase cultural and people-to-people exchanges and strengthen the cooperation mechanism among the BRICS countries, with a view to making preparation for the upcoming 2017 BRICS Summit to be held in Xiamen.

The South African, Indian and Russian officials said they would work with the Chinese side to make the Xiamen Summit a success.