BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- BRICS Business Forum warmly greeted about 1,000 business elites from all over the world on September 3. At this turning point in adjustment and transformation of global economy, a number of new signals on development have been conveyed by this grand event.
---Signal 1: Exploring new growth points through cooperation
For a decade, BRICS countries have contributed to half of the world economic growth ratio by leveraging its advantages in commodity supply, human resource costs and international market demand. However, as the world economy has undergone profound adjustment and changes have taken place in the traditionally advantageous areas in their economy, BRICS countries have successively entered a crucial stage to tide over difficulties.
At the forum, the topic about promoting industrial reform has become a common concern among business representatives. Despite the different development paths of BRICS countries, a strategy to strengthening external strategic connectivity and economic complementarity is a common option for these countries.
Based in Fujian, the Chinese sportswear giant Anta has set foothold in Russia for many years and built it into a key overseas market. Ding Shizhong, chairman of Anta Group, noted at the BRICS Business Forum that BRICS countries represent over 20 percent pf the world economy and one-third of global population, which meant great opportunities for sporting goods companies.
Over the past decade, Lenovo produced 28 million terminals in India and Brazil. Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo chairman and CEO, emphasized the necessity to grasp BRICS population dividend and strengthen cooperation in such fields as intelligent manufacturing, Internet+ and E-commerce.
According to Wang Wen, executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China, Brazil, Russia and South Africa have witnessed economic slowdown in recent years, but this doesn’t mean the progress of their cooperation with China has declined. China's rapid growth in investment, energy and trade with other BRICS members convincingly proves the importance of cooperation.
---Signal 2: Further facilitating trade and making global economy a bigger pie
Compared with economic strength, there is great potential in trade scale of BRICS countries. Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce, pointed out that BRICS countries have accounted for 23 percent of the global economic aggregate, but accounted for only 16 percent of the global foreign trade. Moreover, bilateral trade of BRICS countries has taken only 5 percent share of their own foreign trade aggregate.
In recent years, Yihua Enterprises (Group) Co. has resorted to worldwide resource allocation to reduce its overall cost, evade trade barriers, and promote industrial transformation and upgrading. According to Liu Shaoxi, vice president of China Chamber of International Commerce and chairman of Yihua, BRICS cooperation has brought tangible and noticeable benefits to many private enterprises, therefore lifting some barriers on investment and trade and broadening the room for win-win cooperation.
Business representatives believed that economic and trade achievements are expected to be yielded from the BRICS summit in Xiamen, which will further facilitate trade among BRICS countries, make global economy a bigger pie, and share opportunities with the people of more countries.
---Signal 3: Tapping into investment potential with financial services
For BRICS countries, efficient financing and financial services are needed to maintain sustained and stable economic growth. To that end, it is inevitable to strengthen financial cooperation and development.
In terms of fundraising, the BRICS’s New Development Bank (NDB) intends to issue bonds denominated in Indian rupee in 2017 following its first-ever issuance of the highly-favored RMB-denominated green bonds in China in the summer of 2016. The bank will also seek debt issuance opportunities in Brazil and Russia..
NDB President K. V. Kamath noted that the NDB has offered local currency loans at the time of loan granting to various countries. With less independence on international hard currency in the future, global economic growth will become more stable, while developing countries and emerging economies will experience more stable development.
Hu Xiaolian, chairwoman of the Export-Import Bank of China pointed out that from the perspective of BRICS countries, foreign trade and cross-border investment of enterprises are exposed to great risk of exchange rate volatility. Hence, domestic currencies should be used more frequently. “We are willing to give a full display to the role of banks by opening accounts for enterprises and providing local loans, clearing and settlement.”
“It is necessary to reinforce financial cooperation among BRICS enterprises during their trade and investment activities, and the role of commercial banks should also be emphasized”, said Tao Yiping, president of the Industrial Bank.
Only when finance becomes “a fountain of flowing water” can the tree of real economy get better irrigated and grow more robustly. According to Wang Wen, BRICS countries should also exert joint efforts in financial supervision and regulation so as to guide such water to flow in the right direction and ensure the yield of plump fruit. (Edited by Zhang Yuan, zhangyuan11@xinhua.org)
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