President says bloc will work to boost economic, security and political ties

The leaders of BRICS countries are determined to use the Xiamen summit as a new starting point and work even harder for a closer, broader and more comprehensive strategic partnership and for another "Golden Decade" of BRICS cooperation, President Xi Jinping said.

Xi made the remark at a news conference at the end of the 9th BRICS Summit in the city in Fujian province on Tuesday.

Xi said the BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration "mapped out a new blueprint for strengthening BRICS partnerships and deepening practical cooperation in various fields".

In economic areas, Xi noted that the BRICS countries have made new strides toward greater connectivity in trade, investment, currency and finance, and infrastructure in the past year.

"We all stress the need to place more emphasis on innovation, seize the historic opportunities offered by the new round of industrial revolution and improve economic structure at a faster pace so as to secure more resilient, sustainable and quality growth for all," Xi said.

Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, said the BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration sends a clear message that the BRICS nations believe in an open trade agenda.

"The BRICS nations have firmly rejected the protectionist position being taken by the US and fully support open trade. This is a very important message," he said.

Kimeng Hilton Ndukong, a reporter with Cameroon Tribune newspaper, said what impressed him most during Xi's news conference was the new blueprint for the BRICS partnership and the next "Golden Decade".

Given the greater role BRICS has taken on the international scene, "our continent, Africa, hopes to benefit more and more from BRICS", he said.

Since the start of this year, BRICS countries have had in-depth exchanges of views on such issues as the international situation. They held meetings of high-level security officials and the bloc's first stand-alone foreign ministers meeting.

Xi said the BRICS leaders believe that it is in their common interest to deepen political and security cooperation, and "this is also what the international community expects us to do".

"We support efforts to continue the good momentum of political and security cooperation, and we will play our part and contribute more to world peace and stability," Xi said.

Andrew Moody contributed to this story.

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