Five of the biggest emerging economies on Thursday stood by the multilateral system and vowed to strengthen economic cooperation in the face of US tariff threats and unilateralism. The heads of the so-called Brics – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – met for an annual summit dominated by the risk of a global US- led trade war, although leaders did not publicly mention President Donald Trump by name.
President Xi Jinping called on BRICS members to uphold multilateralism and improve global governance. Trade wars should be rejected because there will be no winner, and those who pursue such a course will only end up hurting themselves, the Chinese leader said at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday.