BRICS members rally to counter shocks of bullying, protectionism

From Athens to Brasilia, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been calling for multilateral approaches to counter an impending global economic downturn.

China, as he has reiterated to his different audiences, stands firm against the "protectionist and bullying counter-currents" that bring shocks to international trade and increase the downward pressure on the world economy.

Last year at the 10th BRICS summit in South Africa, Brazil, Russia, India, China and the host country jointly initiated their Partnership on New Industrial Revolution. Now at the 11th summit in Brazil, they are giving substance to that Partnership with pledges to boost intra-BRICS trade and investment. Given the conspicuous uncertainties facing the individual BRICS members, invigorating intra-group trade is not only a pragmatic move to boost their economies, it also lends credence to their calls for concerted efforts to safeguard the multilateral global trading regime.