The coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province will open its arms to embrace the ninth BRICS Summit to be hosted in the city this September and all preparatory work is progressing in good order, said Liang Jianyong, deputy to the National People's Congress, at the plenary meeting of the Fujian delegation to the NPC on March 6.

Liang Jianyong, Fujian's deputy to the National People's Congress, talks about preparatory work for the ninth BRICS Summit to be hosted in Xiamen this September, as well as Xiamen and Fujian province's deepening cooperation with other four BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Xiamen is a port city for business and trade, as well as a beautiful resort for holiday visits in southeast China. It has always been a hospitable host to visitors from all around. It is now taking steady steps to prepare its urban environment and volunteers for this year's BRICS Summit, an international relations conference attended by national leaders from the five member countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

According to Liang, who is also the Party secretary of Fujian, elements showing Xiamen's unique character and the spirit of the summit are comprised in the logo of the ninth BRICS Summit, which has been published lately, including an unfurled sail, the revolving Earth, and five colors representing the five BRICS countries. Also an official website and a platform for registration have been put into use.

During China's 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), trade between Xiamen and the other four BRICS nations grew by 9.7 percent, Liang stated. And in 2016, which was the starting year of the 13th Five-Year Plan, trade between the entire province of Fujian and the other four BRICS nations reached 67.9 billion yuan ($9.8 billion), two percent up from the previous year.

Inbound and outbound investment and international cooperation projects have been on the rise. Fujian's light industrial products including electronics are exported to the four nations in large amounts. On the other side, their mineral and agricultural products have been gaining market shares in Fujian. Liang expects that the coming BRICS Summit will further accelerate bilateral cooperation between Fujian and the nations.

Meanwhile, Fujian established exchange channels with the nations tied to culture, education, tourism, and more over the years. It has signed sister province relationship pacts with Ceara, in northeast Brazil, and Kwazulu-Natal, in east South Africa. And Xiamen, the host city of the Summit, has forged similar friendly relationships with Vladivostok, in Russia, and Iguassu, a tourism city known for eponymous waterfalls in Brazil.

The official website of the ninth BRICS Summit: https://www.brics2017.org/English/