Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed five initiatives to deepen cooperation among BRICS nations, focusing on artificial intelligence, trade and investment, the digital economy, smart manufacturing and science and technology talent development. According to a post by Xu Feihong, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, Xi outlined the initiatives while addressing the second session of the 18th BRICS Summit. Under the open-source and inclusive AI initiative, China said it would take the lead in establishing a BRICS AI open-source community and support cooperation in the development and application of large language models. Beijing also proposed specialised AI seminars and training courses to create an open ecosystem for artificial intelligence. The trade and investment facilitation initiative includes a proposal to establish a BRICS special economic zone partnership. Countries would be encouraged to create an intelligent portal, coordinate policies and build a new frontier for open development. China also said it would host a BRICS Forum on Trade in Services next year. Under the digital industry cooperation initiative, China proposed creating a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, alongside digital skills training, technological exchanges and industrial alignment to support the development of the digital economy.
The fourth initiative focuses on intelligent manufacturing, with China offering to assist BRICS countries in developing smart factories and standards and norms to promote the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing. The fifth initiative seeks to boost science and technology talent development. China proposed establishing a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance for joint training and mutual recognition of competency standards. It also plans to launch a BRICS youth exchange programme focused on scientific and technological innovation. Earlier on Sunday, Xi departed Delhi after participating in the BRICS Summit. He had attended the first day of the summit and held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Xi, however, skipped a gala dinner hosted by Modi for BRICS leaders and other dignitaries on Saturday.
