By Liu Zhiqin    Source: Global Times    Published: 2017-9-17

The BRICS summit in Xiamen, Southeast China`s Fujian Province, was a success, showing the world that developing countries are determined to work together and build a more prosperous and equitable world.

Dealing with the new wave of globalization is an important task for the next decade for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The reform of globalization is not meant to exclude the developed countries, but this time, a new engine is providing the economic power. All the developing countries, including the BRICS, are becoming more open to each other.

After many difficulties in the past decade, the BRICS ushered in a new future. The BRICS have reached a significant moment, that is, trying to form an international economic system and environment that can fully adapt to the needs of developing countries and ensure their futures. Equality, openness, cooperation and win-win methods will become the "golden rules" of the BRICS countries.

In international economic intercourse, Western countries frequently employ sanctions against developing countries, trying to collapse the economies of those countries so that they will surrender. Sanctions become common tools for a few Western countries to deal with international disputes. Resolving these issues requires concise and calm discussion and communication between the developed and developing countries.

In the next decade, the BRICS should be prepared to deal with the various types of sanctions that Western countries may impose. Certain Western politicians will not willingly accept the success of the BRICS, as well as the promotion of the Belt and Road initiative. Therefore, the BRICS should be united in their ability to defend against sanctions.

As to developing countries, efforts should be made to strengthen communication and consultation with developed countries, which can minimize the possibility of sanctions. More cooperation should be allowed and encouraged worldwide. Both developed countries and developing ones may then welcome new economic prosperity together.

The BRICS should advocate a legal environment for the world economy, dominated by the rules of the UN and the WTO. No country in the world has the right to sanction another sovereign state arbitrarily. In this way, indirect and direct damage to the world economy due to sanctions can be greatly reduced. The abuse of sanctions must be opposed.

Developing countries, represented by the BRICS, must study international law and maintain fairness in international law. In dealing with intellectual property issues, the BRICS should take care not to enter a minefield. In the negotiation of cooperation, intellectual property protection should be given a prominent position to avoid legal disputes.

For the BRICS, the number of rules and regulations affecting international economic and trade exchanges is more important than the number of signed international contracts.

China regards deepening reform as a recipe for governance in its own reform and opening-up. China has carried out more than 1,500 reforms, making China the world`s second-largest economy. So long as the BRICS undertake the necessary reforms, they will meet public expectations.

It was encouraging that the BRICS successfully reached an agreement at the meeting and declared to the world that they will take concerted action together to create a fair, just, mutually beneficial and win-win international economic environment.

The author is a senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.