XIAMEN (CHINA), Sept 2: Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the chair of this year's BRICS Summit, said that the BRICS countries should now move ahead with BRICS plus cooperation model by integrating emerging markets and developing countries in order to give impetus to the world economic growth and diffuse risks and challenges posed by the rise of protectionism. 

Stating that the global economy is still not healthy enough and remains in a period of adjustment featuring weak growth in the backdrop of the global financial crisis, Xi pressed that the BRICS should be expanded to BRICS plus to build a diversified network of emerging markets and developing countries to boost the global economy and further stir the cause of economic globalization.  

Delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, a sideline event of the main BRICS Summit, on Sunday in Xiamen of Fujian Province, he said, "We should leverage our strategic strength and influence, promote south-south cooperation and north-south dialogue for the collective strength of all the countries and jointly diffuse risks and challenges. We should expand the coverage of the BRICS cooperation and deliver its benefits to more people." 
Xi further said that the BRICS countries should work together with other members of the international community to step up dialogue, coordination and cooperation and contribute to upholding and securing global economic stability and growth. BRICS is the association of the five emerging economies of the world and has been organizing the annual summit since 2009 and China is designated the rotating presidency for 2017 and is the host of this year's summit.  
China has recently been raising the agenda of expanding the scope of BRICS, a club of five emerging developing countries--Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa-to BRICS Plus.  Xi's remarks a day before the opening of the main BRICS Summit has made it clear that the issue of expanding BRICS will also be widely discussed among head of states of the BRICS countries following the opening of the main BRICS Summit on Monday apart from issues of other cooperation. 

China has already invited leaders from five countries of five different regions--Egypt, Guinea, Mexico, Tajikistan and Thailand--to attend the Dialogue of Emerging Markets and Developing Countries on Tuesday, the last day of the summit in order to push its agenda of expansion of the BRICS to BRICS plus.

Together, the five accounted for 23 percent of the 2016 global economy, almost double their share in 2006, and contributed to more than half of global growth.

With the shift of western countries, especially US, toward protectionism, the global trade and investment have been facing stagnation.

 
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