BRICS could help promote more just, fairer international order: SCO chief

Global South countries hope to push for a more just, reasonable and fairer international order through the BRICS and other international or regional organizations, said Zhang Ming, secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Zhang attended the "BRICS Plus" leaders' dialog held during the 16th BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan on Thursday.

In an interview with China Global Television Network on the sidelines of the event, he said the speeches made by the participating leaders are quite similar to those at the SCO summits because they reflect the common wishes of developing countries.

"We are all members of the Global South and facing the same challenges and difficulties, with the same pursuit, which is the modernization of the Global South, the modernization of the SCO member states, and that of the BRICS countries. In short, it is the pursuit for the modernization of all developing countries," said Zhang.

The meeting lasted about seven hours, which is very rich in content and shows developing countries' high expectations for the BRICS, a group of major emerging economies in the world, according to Zhang.

"Various parties have expressed high expectations for the BRICS. They hope they can jointly push for a more just, reasonable and equitable international political and economic order through the BRICS and other regional organizations made up by developing countries. This conforms to the interests of humankind, the planet and the developing countries," Zhang said.

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.

BRICS could help promote more just, fairer international order: SCO chief

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday chaired a State Council executive meeting which mulled measures to boost consumption by accelerating the formation of new growth points in service consumption.

The meeting called for continued efforts to boost consumption by fully leveraging the integrated effects of different policies, linking improvement in people's wellbeing to consumption growth, and giving full play to the fundamental role of consumption in driving economic growth.

The meeting emphasized the importance of accelerating the cultivation of new growth points in service consumption, supporting new business forms, models, and scenarios, and increasing the supply of high-quality services.

Efforts should be made to improve the long-term mechanism for promoting consumption by formulating and implementing plans aimed at expanding consumption during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), increasing the income of urban and rural residents, speeding up the removal of unreasonable restrictive measures for consumption, and implementing the paid leave system. These measures are intended to boost people's consumption capacity and willingness to spend, promote the upgrading of consumption and industrial structures, and accelerate the building of a strong domestic market.

The meeting also made arrangements for actions to clear overdue payments to enterprises and ensure the issue of wage arrears for migrant workers is properly addressed. The meeting also deliberated and adopted a draft decision of the State Council on revising and abolishing some administrative regulations.

Chinese premier chairs meeting on promoting service consumption