Xiamen aims to be bridgehead for BRICS cooperation

XIAMEN, China, Sept. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:

In an effort to become a role model for practical cooperation in the sphere of the new industrial revolution among the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the coastal city of Xiamen in East China’s Fujian province has broken new ground and implemented new initiatives.

In September 2017, the BRICS Summit was held in Xiamen, and in September 2021, the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution Innovation Center was launched in Xiamen, both of which deepened the cooperation between Xiamen and other BRICS countries. The establishment of the BRICS innovation center has become a major historical opportunity for Xiamen to achieve a higher level of opening-up to the outside world.

The innovation center, which serves as a pillar for promoting BRICS cooperation, is expected to help improve developing countries’ capacities to seize the opportunities brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Xiamen also plans to utilize the innovation center to help the city become the nucleus of the BRICS network.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, Fujian plans to accelerate the construction of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution Innovation Center in Xiamen, and deepen cooperation with BRICS and BRICS Plus countries in fields such as digitization, industrialization, innovation-driven development, and investment, as well as talent training and project development.

Xiamen has also responded actively to the central government’s call to promote the development of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution Innovation Center based on high standards. Efforts have also been made to deepen cooperation with BRICS countries, and a batch of new projects related to BRICS cooperation have been set up in the city, and all of which are expected to help Xiamen build the innovation center into a platform for deepening pragmatic cooperation between BRICS countries.

Since the launch of the innovation center two years ago, more than 120,000 personnel from 28 countries have been trained and more than 100 BRICS demonstration projects have been launched.

BRICS cooperation has brought great benefits to Xiamen. Official data showed that in the first seven months of this year, Xiamen’s foreign trade volume with BRICS countries reached 47.9 billion yuan ($7 billion), a year-on-year increase of 20.7 percent, and accounted for 9.1 percent of the city’s total foreign trade during the period.