In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum in Xiamen on September 3, President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative in providing a renewed impetus to the world economy.
Wang Wen, Executive Dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, believes the BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative have the potential to complement each other.
"The BRICS members and the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative share the same spirit and the same values. They all want to open their economies and achieve mutually beneficial cooperation. And they all wish to achieve inclusive development, " he said to Beijing Review.
According to Wang, the BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative can achieve their goals despite their differences through inclusiveness.
"The path [the BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative] choose to follow is however different. China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and invited other countries to join a mutually built, mutually beneficial initiative. The BRICS is different. Five countries have established a common platform. The BRICS is an excellent mechanism for both bilateral and multilateral cooperation. But their common goals are inclusive," he remarked.
(Reporting from Xiamen)
