President Xi Jinping called on the BRICS members on Friday to make joint efforts to maintain the stability and prosperity of the global economy at a time when the multilateral trading system is facing challenges.

Xi made the remarks while attending an informal meeting with Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

The leaders of the five countries reached numerous consensuses after exchanging in-depth views on the current global economic situation and cooperation between the BRICS members.

In his speech, Xi pointed out that risks facing the global economy are rising and the multilateral trading system is being affected, which goes against the common interests of the international community.

Xi called for joint efforts of the BRICS members to strengthen unity, enhance communication and coordination, shoulder their responsibility and promote global governance to develop in the right direction.

The BRICS countries should firmly uphold multilateralism, enhance coordination under the frameworks of the G20, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO), jointly safeguard international order based on multilateralism and oppose protectionism and unilateralism, Xi said.

The BRICS countries should be dedicated to improving global economic governance, he said, adding that the WTO should be reformed in the right direction.

The core values and basic principles of the WTO should not be discarded, and the special treatment enjoyed by developing countries must be guaranteed, Xi said.

He urged that the reform of the international monetary and finance system should be pushed continuously, and the representativeness of emerging markets and developing countries should be improved further.

Xi proposed that the BRICS members take a leading role in promoting emerging markets and developing countries to put development at top priority.

The BRICS countries should push the developed countries to fulfill their official commitment of development aid and provide support of capital, technology and capacity building for developing nations, Xi said.

The BRICS countries should enhance pragmatic cooperation, jointly cultivate new driving force of economic growth and release the potential of BRICS Plus to make the other emerging markets and developing countries benefit from BRICS cooperation, Xi said.

Noting that all BRICS countries are important members of G20, Xi said that the five nations should work together to support this G20 summit, achieve positive outcomes that are responsible for the world and the people, and send strong voice of enhancing global cooperation and promoting mutual benefits.

The other BRICS leaders said at the meeting that the global politics, economy and trade are facing grave challenges, and the trend of unilateralism and protectionism is worrisome.

The leaders agreed that the BRICS countries should enhance unity and strengthen cooperation in such areas as trade, energy, technology, finance, people-to-people and health.

The BRICS countries should support multilateralism, maintain multilateral trading system based on rules, and oppose protectionism, the leaders said.

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