Xiamen, June 10th—The China Council for BRICS Think Tank Cooperation and Xiamen Municipal People’s Government co-hosted the International Symposium for BRICS Think Tanks 2021 here today with the theme of “working together to develop the innovation center into a model of BRICS cooperation”. Guo Yezhou, President of the China Council for BRICS Think Tank Cooperation and Vice-minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee attended the symposium and delivered keynote speeches. Zhao Long, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Xiamen Municipal Committee, Huang Haikun, Vice Governor of Fujian and Anil Kishora, Vice President of the New Development Bank attended the meeting and delivered speeches.

Guo Yezhou pointed out that the intertwined effects of both the epidemic and the changes unseen in a century have made the historical mission of the BRICS cooperation mechanism particularly prominent, which further proved that President Xi Jinping’s major initiative of establishing the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR) not only conforms to the trend of times, but also indicates a promising future. In 2020, President Xi Jinping announced that China will open in Xiamen, Fujian Province a BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution innovation center. This will provide an important platform for BRICS countries to seize opportunities and deepen cooperation in the wave of the new industrial revolution, offer guidance for the next “golden decade” of BRICS pragmatic cooperation, and play an important role in China’s efforts to accelerate the construction of a new development paradigm in China, which takes domestic market as the mainstay with domestic and foreign markets reinforcing each other. To establish an innovation base for the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR), we must uphold genuine multilateralism and create a win-win and shared cooperation platform. In addition, we must adhere to open innovation and create a pioneering zone for innovation cooperation. Besides, we must stick to the “three-wheel drive” model and create an important grip for pragmatic cooperation. Furthermore, we must adhere to sustainable development and create a new benchmark for green development.

Zhao Long said that Xiamen will follow the direction guided by President Xi Jinping. In addition to taking the implementation of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR) as the main line, Xiamen will focus on innovation and industrialization cooperation, give integrated considerations to trade, investment, people-to-people exchanges and other areas, and actively serve and integrate into the new development pattern. Additionally, Xiamen will take a pragmatic approach to the cooperation in terms of policy coordination, talent training and project development, create a number of iconic platforms and flagship projects, and turn the innovation base into an important platform for BRICS and “BRICS+” cooperation.

More than 200 experts, industry and government officials, and representatives of international organizations and business associations from BRICS countries attended the symposium both offline and online, and discussed topics such as promoting the development of the BRICS innovation center, boosting investment and trade facilitation and enhancing financial innovation and cooperation.

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