OPEN ECONOMY
Economic cooperation remains at the foundation of BRICS, and Xi has been calling for openness and larger representation of the developing countries in global economic governance since his first BRICS summit appearance in 2013.
With anti-globalization and inward-looking mentality on the rise, Xi in Xiamen repeated his support for an open global economy, multilateral trade and fight against protectionism.
"Emerging market will be hurt most by protectionism," Xi said. "Openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation are the only viable option."
Together, BRICS represented 23 percent of global GDP in 2016 and had contributed to more than half of global economic growth in the past decade. But it has not all been plain sailing, as demand shrank, financial risks rose and commodity prices slumped.
Larissa Wachholz, a partner at Brazilian consulting firm Vallya, said Xi's focus on economic growth, win-win development and equal partnership is important to Brazil.
The Brazilian economy just climbed out of recession in the first quarter of 2017.
Opening the BRICS Business Forum, Xi encouraged BRICS countries to pursue innovation-driven development created by smart manufacturing, the digital economy and sharing economy.
This came no surprise to Lenovo chairman Yang Yuanqing, who is all too aware that China is leading the world in Internet technology.
The digital economy, with a market scale worth 22.6 trillion yuan, has risen to take up 30 percent of GDP in China.
Meanwhile, leading Chinese tech companies are expanding overseas.
In India, Alibaba's subsidiary partnered with local mobile payment company Paytm and boosted its number of users from 30 million to 200 million, the company said.
"Chinese companies are willing to share their experience as they explore the overseas market," Yang said. "Seizing the opportunities of the digital revolution, BRICS can achieve impressive growth and overtake developed countries."
Xi said the new technological revolution has brought developing countries precious chances to play catch-up.
"Losing it, the developing countries will see the divide between them and the developed world grow wider," he said.
The first ever Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries became another bright spot at the Xiamen summit.
