The BRICS Business Forum

Congratulations on the successful hosting of the BRICS Business Forum in South Africa!

Ten years ago, I and other leaders of BRICS countries witnessed the birth of the BRICS Business Council in South Africa. In the past 10 years, the business community of BRICS countries has not forgotten their original intentions, seized opportunities, deepened cooperation, and made positive contributions to the economic and social development of BRICS countries, as well as injecting positive energy into world economic growth.

At present, changes in the world, times, and history are unfolding in an unprecedented manner, and human society has reached a critical juncture. Is it to persist in cooperation and integration, or to move towards division and confrontation? Is it to work together to maintain peace and stability, or to slide into the abyss of the "new cold war"? Is it moving towards prosperity through openness and inclusiveness, or falling into depression amidst hegemony? Is it to enhance mutual trust through communication and mutual learning, or to let arrogance and prejudice deceive conscience? The direction of the pendulum of history depends on our choices.

“Only when things are done in a smooth and orderly manner can success be achieved.” In the past few decades, humanity has achieved significant results in economic development and social progress because it has learned the lessons of the two world wars and the Cold War, followed the historical trend of economic globalization, and opened up a path of open development and win-win cooperation in the world. The world today is a community with a shared future of both prosperity and loss. What people of all countries hope for is not a "new cold war" or a "small circle", but a world of lasting peace and universal security, a world of common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness, cleanliness, and beauty. This is the logic of historical progress and the trend of era development.

Ten years ago, I proposed the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, promoting countries to build the Earth we live together into a harmonious family. Faced with the test of high winds, rapid waves, and even turbulent waves, countries should uphold the correct worldview, historical view, and overall perspective, and transform the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind into action, and the vision into reality.

——We need to promote common development and prosperity. Emerging market countries and developing countries mostly emerged from the historical quagmire of colonialism. We have gone through countless hardships, made tremendous sacrifices, gained national independence, and continuously explored development paths that are in line with our own national conditions. All we do is ultimately to enable the people to live a happy life. However, some countries are unwilling to lose their hegemonic position and indiscriminately surround and suppress emerging market and developing countries. Whoever develops well must be curbed; Whoever catches up will make a trip. I have said multiple times that blowing out someone else's light does not make oneself brighter.

Every country has the right to development, and people of all countries have the freedom to pursue a happy life. I propose the Global Development Initiative to promote the international community to take the path of common development and revitalize the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With the support of various countries, global development initiatives are increasingly deepening and implementing, and cooperation projects in various fields are flourishing. China is willing to work with other countries to accelerate initiative cooperation, strengthen global development momentum, comprehensively and deeply promote WTO reform, address common challenges, and enhance the well-being of people in all countries.

——We must strive to achieve universal security. In recent years, the world has been very unstable, with many countries and regions experiencing wars and people being displaced. The international community urgently hopes to eliminate the root causes of conflicts and wars and find the fundamental strategy for long-term peace and stability in the world. The fact shows that continuously expanding military alliances, expanding one's own sphere of influence, and squeezing the security space of other countries will inevitably lead to security dilemmas and insecurity for all countries. Only by adhering to the new security concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable development can we embark on a path of universal security.

Last year, I proposed the Global Security Initiative, which has received support from over 100 countries and international organizations. China is willing to work with all parties to promote the global security initiative to take root, adhere to dialogue without confrontation, partnership without alliance, win-win rather than zero sum, and work together to build a security community.

——We must adhere to civilized exchanges and mutual learning. A single flower cannot make a beautiful spring, but a hundred flowers can make the world full of spring. Colorfulness is the essence of human civilization. It is precisely because the history, culture, and systems of different countries are different that it is necessary to exchange and learn from each other, learn from each other's strengths, and make progress together. The deliberate promotion of the binary opposition between "democracy and authoritarianism" and "freedom and dictatorship" can only lead to the fragmentation of the world and the conflict of civilizations.

I propose the Global Civilization Initiative, which emphasizes promoting the diversity of world civilizations, promoting the common values of all humanity, and strengthening cultural exchanges and cooperation. China welcomes the active participation of various countries in initiative cooperation, promoting the struggle of different civilizations and the blooming of flowers, breaking down communication barriers, and continuing the flame of human civilization.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

In today's era, the collective rise of emerging market countries and developing countries represented by the BRICS countries is fundamentally changing the world landscape. Emerging market countries and developing countries have contributed up to 80% of world economic growth in the past 20 years, and the global share of GDP has increased from 24% to over 40% in the past 40 years. The green mountains cannot be covered, after all, they flow eastward. No matter how much resistance there is, the positive, stable, and benevolent force of the BRICS countries will flourish. We will continue to deepen the BRICS strategic partnership, expand the "BRICS+" model, actively promote the expansion process, deepen solidarity and cooperation with other emerging market countries and developing countries, promote world multipolarization and democratization of international relations, and promote the development of the international order towards a more just and reasonable direction. Today, the BRICS countries, together with more than 50 countries, are gathering in South Africa not to select sides or engage in camp confrontation, but to create a grand pattern of peaceful development. I am pleased to see that more than 20 countries are knocking at the door of the BRICS, and China sincerely welcomes everyone to join the BRICS cooperation machine

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

China firmly adheres to an independent foreign policy of peace and is committed to promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. As a developing country and a member of the 'global South', we have always breathed and shared a common destiny with other developing countries, firmly safeguarding the common interests of developing countries, and promoting the increase of representation and voice of emerging market countries and developing countries in global affairs. China does not have the gene to seek hegemony, nor the impulse to play the game of great powers. It firmly stands on the right side of history and adheres to the principle of 'the path of the great road, the world is for the public'.

At present, the Chinese people are comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese path to modernization under the leadership of the CPC. The main characteristics of Chinese path to modernization are the huge population, common prosperity of all people, coordination of material civilization and spiritual civilization, harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and peaceful development. Chinese path to modernization has created a new form of human civilization, showing a new prospect of modernization. I hope that all developing countries can start from their own national conditions and explore new paths to achieve modernization based on the excellent achievements of human civilization.

High quality development is the primary task for China to comprehensively build a modern country. We are committed to implementing the new development concept and constructing a new development pattern. Over the past 10 years, China's average annual contribution to world economic growth has exceeded 30%. Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese economy has maintained a positive trend of recovery. China has the institutional advantages of a socialist market economy, the demand advantages of a large-scale market, the supply advantages of a complete industrial system, and the talent advantages of a large number of high-quality workers and entrepreneurs. The Chinese economy has strong resilience, great potential, and abundant vitality. The long-term positive fundamentals will not change, and the ship of the Chinese economy will continue to move forward through wind and waves.

China will always be an important opportunity for world development. We open the door and welcome anyone who comes to cooperate with us. As a super large-scale economy, China will firmly promote high-level opening up, expand market access, reduce the negative list of foreign investment access, and enhance the level of modern service industry opening up. We will continue to optimize the business environment, implement national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises, create a market-oriented, legal, and international first-class business environment, and build a global network of high standard free trade zones. We will continue to promote the construction of ecological civilization, accelerate the construction of a beautiful China, actively and steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and promote comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. Looking ahead, as China's population of over 1.4 billion moves towards modernization, China will undoubtedly make greater contributions to the world economy and provide greater space for the business community of various countries.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!