By Zhang Penghui, Ren Yan, People’s Daily
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the BRICS mechanism. Since its launch in 2006, the mechanism has evolved from foreign ministerial dialogues into regular summits of state leaders, and from a platform for economic dialogue into a comprehensive mechanism for strategic cooperation across a broad range of fields. It has become an important cooperation platform for Global South countries.
Since 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping has put forward a series of important proposals and initiatives, including the pioneering “BRICS Plus” cooperation approach, helping BRICS cooperation achieve robust growth and deliver remarkable outcomes. He has played a pivotal role at every critical juncture in the development of the BRICS mechanism.
China has consistently worked to accelerate the evolution of the BRICS mechanism, driving it from the traditional dual-track framework of economic and political security cooperation toward an architecture featuring the three main pillars: economic and financial cooperation, political and security cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people exchange. Besides, China has promoted a vision for BRICS centered on peace, innovation, green development, justice, and closer people-to-people exchanges.
A new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation is now accelerating. BRICS countries, following the trend of the times, have strengthened policy coordination, promoted mutual recognition of standards, and enhanced capacity building in smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence, green and low-carbon development, new industrialization, and digital infrastructure.
They are continuously expanding channels for industrial integration, releasing the potential of pragmatic cooperation, and jointly building new prospects for development featuring win-win outcomes and common prosperity.
In May 2026, the BRICS Forum on Partnership on New Industrial Revolution 2026 was held in Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian province. Themed “Fostering an Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem to Accelerate the New Industrial Revolution,” the event was attended by representatives from 25 countries, including BRICS member countries, partner countries, and other developing countries, as well as relevant international organizations.
Since the launch of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution in Xiamen, the initiative has hosted more than 40 exchange events, including the China Business Missions to BRICS and the BRICS Business to China. It has also launched over 90 online and in-person training programs and signed 138 cooperation projects, with investment totaling 62 million yuan ($9.24 million). These efforts are a testament to the potential of BRICS pragmatic cooperation.
China supports other BRICS countries in developing renewable-energy and low-carbon infrastructure projects, helping them pursue a new path of industrialization that is both efficient and sustainable.
At the Benban Solar Energy Park in Aswan, Egypt, rows of photovoltaic panels harness the abundant sunlight to generate electricity for local communities. In the suburbs of Joao Camara, Brazil, the Gameleira Wind Complex built by a Chinese company generates 360 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, equivalent to saving 129,600 tons of standard coal.
China not only shapes the strategic direction of BRICS but also ensures the mechanism’s long-term cooperation. Diaa Helmy, secretary-general of the Egyptian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, noted that China has provided abundant opportunities of cooperation within the Global South by engaging in technological exchanges and sharing experiences with other BRICS countries in an open and inclusive manner.
As the world undergoes profound transformations unseen in a century, the “greater BRICS” cooperation is uniting the Global South and taking on deep historical significance. Over the past two decades, the BRICS mechanism has become an important force in safeguarding peace, promoting development, and upholding justice.
In 2027, China will once again assume the BRICS presidency. The international community generally believes that, through the joint efforts of China and its BRICS partners, the third “Golden Decade” of the mechanism will be of higher quality, and better promote the common values of the BRICS, safeguard their common interests and draw strength from unity. It will provide stronger impetus for building an equitable and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.