Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech titled "Keeping Abreast of the Trend of the Times to Achieve Common Development" at the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
"There will be no winner in trade war," said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his keynote speech at the opening session of the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"Economic hegemony is not desirable and will damage the common interests of the international world," he went on to say.
Protectionism is not advisable
Xi also vowed to build an open world economy, "We are facing a choice between cooperation and confrontation".
"At a time when the world economy is undergoing profound challenges and changes, only openness can lead to common development and prosperity for all countries," Xi noted.
The President also said that China will help developing countries, including those in Africa and those that are the least developed, so they can effectively participate in the international division of production capacity.
BRICS countries should uphold multilateralism, Xi insisted.
The Chinese president believed a decent and stable global development environment is the prerequisite of the development for all countries.
He admitted that the present international order is not perfect but he believes that the international order is based on rules, oriented by equality and aimed at win-win cooperation, meaning it should not be abandoned at will.
Xi urged for fairness in international society and said emerging markets and developing countries' voices should be heard to ensure they have room to develop.
CGTN's Current Affairs Commentator Victor Gao also pointed out that "countries like the United States" need to stop fighting against globalization, which is "the mega trend" in economics.
New advances will be made
“For emerging economies and developing countries, this is a world of both opportunities and challenges,” Xi stressed.
Xi hailed the role of the BRICS countries in global cooperation and said new advances will be made in 2018.
"We BRICS countries will forge a partnership on the new industrial revolution, which will involve more coordination on macroeconomic policies, closer cooperation on innovation and industrialization and joint efforts to accelerate economic upgrading and the replacement of growth drivers," the president said.
He urged all emerging markets and developing countries to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is based on domestic development strategies and intended to increase the sense of gain and happiness for all people.
He added that, in order to help the African Union (AU) to implement Agenda 2063, cooperation between BRICS countries and African countries should focus on reducing poverty, ensuring food security, and innovation in infrastructure, science and technology.
Shanghai in November and will show the openness of China, President Xi said. "We welcome more countries to take part in the Expo".
More than 2,800 enterprises from over 130 countries and regions have signed up to attend the event.
Meanwhile, Xi said the Paris Agreement on climate change should be advanced and all countries should make efforts toward green development.
The Chinese president also told emerging markets and developing countries to urge rich developed countries to comply with their official aid commitments.
President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa also said he is looking forward to concrete proposals and wisdom from the BRICS countries, and believes that these countries need to advance to the next level of industrial cooperation.
If BRICS countries really want to develop, they need to change from the traditional kind of "shipping raw materials out and buying finished goods back" mode of trade, reported CGTN correspondent Ramah Nyang, who was at the forum.
