China plays key role in pursuing true multilateralism: expert

China plays an important and unique role among BRICS countries in leading the Global South and promoting multilateralism, said Gustavo de Carvalho, a senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

While participating in the BRICS Plus leaders' dialogue during the final day of the Kazan summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the collective rise of the Global South is a distinctive feature of the great transformation across the world.

"We support more Global South countries in joining the cause of BRICS as full members, partner countries or in the 'BRICS Plus' format so that we can combine the great strength of the Global South to build together a community with a shared future for mankind," Xi said.

No matter how the international landscape evolves, said the Chinese president, "we in China will always keep the Global South in our heart, and maintain our roots in the Global South."

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Gustavo de Carvalho spoke highly of Xi's speech.

"He talks a lot about this fragmented global context and challenges that countries not only China, but also emerging countries and countries from the Global South are facing from this increasing polarization, but also positioning China to a certain degree to be able to further engage with other BRICS members when it comes to specific issues, whether it's in relation to green development, whether it's in in relation to this what he calls this high quality development, type of approach which very much comes together with narratives that we've seen here in Africa, for instance, the idea of not just engaging with trade, but also inserting the continents in a more high value portion of the global supply chains. I think that brings a very important process but also that it allows that diversity and varieties of views that we have within BRICS to still be accommodated in positions, for instance, like the ones that China presented," said Gustavo de Carvalho.

The first-ever summit of an expanded BRICS took place from Tuesday to Thursday in Kazan, the capital city of western Russia's Republic of Tatarstan.

BRICS began with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has now evolved into an influential international cooperation mechanism with an expanded membership.

Besides the countries that officially joined the BRICS family on Jan 1, 2024, over 30 countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Türkiye and Azerbaijan have either formally applied for or expressed interest in the membership.

China plays key role in pursuing true multilateralism: expert

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar