China
Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn

BRICS countries were urged at a seminar to share experiences of governance and to strengthen cooperation in fields such as economics and health to improve the well-being of people.

BRICS comprises the five major emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. More than 150 participants from these countries participated in the BRICS Seminar on Governance 2021, whose theme was "Building Consensus and Confidence for BRICS Cooperation with a Shared Future". The seminar was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, both online and offline.

Xu Lin, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and minister of the State Council Information Office, noted that under the leadership of the CPC, China has made tremendous achievements over the past 100 years and eliminated absolute poverty.

The Party's experiences of governing the country include always putting the people first, sticking to reform and opening-up, continuously exploring the path of modernization independently, and being committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind, Xu said on Tuesday in Beijing during his keynote speech to the seminar.

Xu said that over the past 15 years, the BRICS mechanism has grown from an initial investment concept to a model of international cooperation with mutual benefit, and has maintained strong development momentum and vitality.

"The exchanges of governance experiences have played a huge role in it," he said.

He called on BRICS countries to strengthen exchanges, promote mutual learning and work together to promote development and boost the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Sun Weidong, China's ambassador to India, said that the BRICS countries are at similar development stages and face similar challenges and risks. As the world is still suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening governance exchanges is of great significance to the BRICS economies in navigating a sound future path and achieving greater development.

Sun said that China, which will hold the presidency of the organization next year, will strengthen cooperation with BRICS partners in various fields, including fighting the pandemic, practicing true multilateralism and improving people's wellbeing, to forge closer, more pragmatic and higher-quality partnerships.

Ash Narain Roy, director of the Institute of Social Sciences of India, said that in the post-pandemic era, BRICS countries need to work together to boost economic recovery and to ensure that all people have access to healthcare, education, affordable housing and decent jobs.

The world's economic and health situation, biodiversity and ecosystems are closely connected, so nations should adjust their policies and take action to improve governance and people's well-being, such as upholding multilateralism and eliminating poverty, he added.

Du Zhanyuan, president of China International Communications Group, said that BRICS countries need to strengthen coordinated actions to raise voices in global governance. He said that the world is undergoing turbulence and changes, where uncertainties and instability in global governance are on the rise. It is imperative to strengthen the multilateral system.

He said that the BRICS mechanism, as a significant force to be reckoned with in the international arena, should practice true multilateralism, jointly oppose the wrong practices of sanctions, blockades, and decoupling initiated by a few countries, and make global governance more inclusive, representative and participatory.

China
Source: https://news.cgtn.com/

Aiming to promote governance experiences in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, more than 150 representatives – mainly former BRICS dignitaries – gathered in Beijing and online on Tuesday to brainstorm ideas about governance in emerging markets.

Speaking on this year's topic "Building Consensus and Confidence for BRICS Cooperation with a Shared Future," the representatives highlighted the importance of ensuring consensus and expanding common ground.

"Since 2017, BRICS seminars have been held in Quanzhou, China, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and other places, providing a platform for exchanges and dialogue between think tanks and people of insight in the BRICS countries," said Du Zhanyuan, president of China International Communications Group.

"The seminar explores the complex international situation BRICS countries face, how to further consolidate the BRICS cooperation mechanism and promote the development of all countries."

Delegates from the BRICS nations emphasized the importance of multilateralism, mutual learning and global governance to achieve solidarity, and voiced support for programs like the Belt and Road Initiative.

"In 2019, the center launched the Belt and Road project, referring to the Belt and Road Initiative, mentioned by President Xi Jinping in late 2013. The center and projects are demonstrations of school of law of Rio has a profound commitment to deepen academic exchanges with China and BRICS," said Sergio Guerra, dean of Rio de Janeiro Law School of the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

BRICS has played important role in global development. According to the BRICS website, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa together represent about 42 percent of the population, 23 percent of GDP, 30 percent of the territory and 18 percent of the global trade.

Russia
Source: infobrics.org

The BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a webinar on Central Banking System in the age of FinTech virtually.

In his welcome address, Mr. Sameep Shastri (Vice-Chairman, BRICS CCI) stated "Fintech is bringing about a fundamental shift in the financial services sector and reimagining the entire banking space. It presents unique opportunities for central banks."

Mr. Ruhail Ranjan (Governing Body, BRICS CCI & MD, Chandrika Powers) in his special address stated, "As people adapt to a digital lifestyle, so too will they expect the same convenience and seamless experience from other areas of life, including financial services."

"There is a kind of evolution going on, a pretty significant evolution of money for quite a few hundred years. I don't think we are fully working out the implications of some of these things, and some of the massive risks that come with putting inplace overarching financial censorship on citizens."- Chris Gledhill, Independent FinTech Futurist

"As for regulation and central banking, i suppose that the rules aren't enough for us. I think this will be a problem for the entire world. These companies aren't regulated like banks but they operate like banks. I think central banks should work out instruments for tougher regulations for such institutions."- Boris Loguinov, Head of the World Economy Chair at the Diplomatic Academy of Russian Federation.

"I think with the advent of Fintech technology in banking from a South African perspective we are looking at a new idea of what transparency is in banking. There are a lot of different kinds of risk we are looking into in the future."- Seshree Govender, Senior Associate at Webber Wentzel

"Decentralised finance is where the future lies. If we want products for everyone, we need gender-specific ones, as all products do not work for women."- Neha Mehta, CEO and Founder, Femtech Partners.

"Common man is now getting involved in details of banking. At the end of the day customer-centric fintech solutions are going to win."- Mr. Bibin Babu (Co-Founder, Payiza, Colexion & Innowork).

In his closing remarks, Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh (Vice Chairman, BRICS CCI) stated, "The scenario is completely altered today with Fintech bringing about a fundamental shift in the financial services sector. It is reimagining the entire banking space, with banks relocating to digitization."