BRICS PLUS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

As part of this year's BRICS agenda, the group inaugurated a vaccine research and development center online in March. The five countries vowed to make vaccines accessible and affordable for developing countries as global public goods.

The immunization gap is one of the concerns shared by BRICS countries. To solve such global challenges, the group agreed to promote the expansion of global governance into more developing nations, a move West-dominated organizations are reluctant to take.

Besides vaccines, China and other BRICS countries have been providing other "public goods," such as development experience and technology, particularly to the Global South, to bolster sustainable development.

For example, China is helping many African countries, such as Mozambique, to develop modern agriculture with the help of the China-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and unmanned equipment.

In 2017, China steered its involvement of other nations into what has become known as "BRICS Plus" by building a more comprehensive partnership with other developing countries and organizations to turn BRICS into a more influential platform for South-South cooperation.

Gu Qingyang, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore, said BRICS cooperation has made remarkable progress in green development, science and technology, the digital economy and infrastructure construction.

Expanding BRICS cooperation will be more conducive to rallying developing countries to tackle global challenges, Gu said.

Last year, Xi launched the Global Development Initiative (GDI), calling on all countries to forge a united, equal, balanced and inclusive global development partnership.

For the Chinese leader, development holds the key to solving various difficult problems facing the world.

In his speech delivered at the 14th BRICS Summit on Thursday, Xi underlined the implementation of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the building of a global community of development. He pledged to work with BRICS partners to add more substance to the GDI and contribute to more robust, greener and healthier global growth.

Inclusiveness highlighted in China-proposed initiatives is what the world needs, Gu said, adding that China and other BRICS countries share a broadly similar world view with other developing countries that believe in inclusive development, multilateralism and mutual benefit.

Elaborating on global cooperation for common development, South African Ambassador to China Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele said, "in order to sustain peace, there must be development."

"What struck me was the message from President Xi Jinping that we should rise to the challenge as leaders, and be able to work together to deal with all these emerging challenges," Cwele said.

Xi's remarks remind us of "love for our people that they should grow, develop and live a prosperous life," Cwele added.