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Why Xiamen was chosen to host the next BRICS Summit

2016/10/27

Following Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, Xiamen in southeastern Fujian province will be the next Chinese city to shine on the international stage, as the city has just been announced as the host city of the ninth BRICS Summit next September.

And it will not be the first time that Xiamen has crossed paths with the BRICS nations.

As a matter of fact, all five BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—first appeared togetherat the China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT), an annual event held in Xiamen, in 2011, and became highlights in the following sessions of the fair.

Xiamen first hosted the CIFIT in the late 1990s, and its subsequent evolution has echoed each different stage of China’s development during the last 20 years, said Huang Meibo, professor of economics at Xiamen University, during an interview with Chinanews.com on Oct 20.

By attending the next BRICS Summit in Xiamen, the leaders of the BRICS nations will be able to experience China’s unique growth model in person, said Huang.

As a developing country, China has grown rapidly in recent years, capturing the attention of the international community, and China started to introduce its unique development model to the world, including developing countries, which share the aspiration of joint development, according to Huang, whose research focuses on South-South cooperation.

As a port city on the southeast coast, Xiamen was built into an export center and an industrial zone attracting foreign investment following the reform and opening-up of China’s economy during the 1980s.

Top multinational companies have recently initiated more than 100 investment projects in the city.

Among the first special economic zones set up in China in 1980, Xiamen piloted numerous reforms as China’s gateway to foreign countries, and recently became part of the Fujian Free Trade Zone.

As the largest investment event in China, the CIFIT contributed greatly to the growth of China’s inbound and outbound investmentduring the past 20 years, with its focus gradually shifting from solely “introducing FDI” to both “introducing FDI” and “going global”.

This change reflected the development track of China. China is now a more proactive player in global economy. It initiated the Belt and Road Initiative, aiming to boost connectivity worldwide, in 2013, and is encouraging local enterprises to expand globally. As a result, China’s outbound investment surpassed inbound investment in 2015, according to statistics.

As an important port city, Xiamen maintains close economic and trade links with the BRICS nations of India, South Africa and Brazil through sea routes. And the opening of new intercontinental rail freight routes in 2015 means that the city is now also connected with Central Asia and Europe. The Xiamen-Chengdu-Europe route covers a large part of theBRICS nation Russia.

Data shows that Xiamen’s trade with the other four BRICS nations exceeded 25 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) in the first three quarters of 2016.

Xiamen’s rich experience in arranging international events is another plus. In 2015, Xiamen hosted 6,000 international meetings, receiving more than 1 million foreign attendees.

Xiamen is also a leading center for research on economic and trade cooperation. Xiamen University is well-known for its research onSouth-South cooperation, international financial cooperation and international economic law. The CIFIT once hosted a forum on BRICS nations’ investment opportunities.

And as a famous coastal resort, the city will offer a pleasant environment to the attendees of the next BRICS with its beautiful city design and natural scenery.

Huang predicted that, as the host of the next BRICS Summit, Xiamen is set to raise its global image as a hub for international cooperation