The Ufa Declaration said, "We welcome the proposal for the New Development Bank to cooperate closely with existing and new financing mechanisms including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank."

Zhu Jiejin, an expert on BRICS studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the bank shows that the level of cooperation among the group's members has been raised from a mainly strategic approach to a more pragmatic one.

The bank will bring great benefits and support specific projects in various areas including industrial cooperation, said Zhu.

Although the bank is not designed to challenge the existing global financial system, Xi urged the BRICS countries to push for reform of the International Monetary Fund's governance structure by increasing the rights of emerging-market countries and developing countries to speak out.

IMF data show that the BRICS countries contributed half of the world's economic growth in the past decade, and their growth is expected to exceed that of the developed countries and other emerging economies by 2030.

Xu Xiujun, an expert on international political economy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, expressed optimism over the five economies' prospects for development, saying the five remain the powerhouse of global growth.

The newly adopted strategy will convert ideas for cooperation into concrete measures, said Xu. The BRICS countries have all launched new reforms and prioritized the expansion of domestic demand to tap growth potential, the expert added.

Contact the writers at wujiao@chinadaily.com.cn.