The third BRICS summit,held in Sanya on April 14, absorbs South Africa as a new member, and marks a big step forward for the organization.

The meeting discusses the following four topics:

The first is reform of the international economic system.

Although all BRICS nations and most other countries have recovered from the financial crisis, there remains fear of another dip. BRICS countries need to coordinate positions and raise proposals for maintaining growth and promoting development for the G20 Summit. They will also urge the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to advance promised reform, including increasing the representation of emerging economies and developing countries, establishing more scientific and reasonable international financial and economic management mechanisms and patterns.

The second topic is the current situation in Libya and the Middle East and BRICS' common stance on how to deal with such political crises.

Thirdly the meeting discusses how to deal with climate change and natural disasters caused by climate change. Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant was severely damaged by the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Leaked radioactive substances polluted the air and the ocean. BRICS nations all have nuclear plants and, like many other countries, have ambitious plans to build more. How to safely use nuclear power has become a common issue facing all countries with nuclear plants.

And finally the meeting hopes to map out a new development plan for BRICS. From a cooperative mechanism to an international group, this is not only a change in form but also an upgrade in nature. The summit will discuss many problems facing BRICS, such as the nature and objectives of the organization, expansion conditions and scope, and operation of the cooperative mechanism.

Starting from economic cooperation, whether BRICS needs to spread to political and security areas is still a new problem. Currently, the five members come from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It has to be considered whether it will expand its membership to include Mexico, Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey, Egypt, and Nigeria.

The summit itself provides an important platform for political cooperation. Leaders will assess the changes in the international situation and find corresponding solutions.

BRICS needs to learn lessons from other international organizations and try to avoid an inefficient bureaucracy that hinders performance and cooperation.

BRICS should not regard any country or group of nations as rivals. It should promote a more just, democratic international order for economics, world politics and security. It should not sow discord among cultures or nationalities but enhance mutual understanding and cooperation among nationalities, cultures and regions.

Wang Lijiu is a researcher with the Institute of Russian Studies under the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

(The article was written in Chinese and translated by Zhang Ming'ai.)

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