(Yicai) Sept. 18 -- This week’s BRICS Forum on Partnership for New Industrial Revolution showcased strides in industrial collaboration among member nations, highlighted by the signing of 14 industry projects and the creation of key centers for artificial intelligence, digital ecosystems, and industrial competence.

Progress on recent initiatives was revealed at the forum held on Sept. 16 and 17 in Xiamen, China, including the new China Center for BRICS Industrial Competence, which had its opening ceremony. The center will focus on fields such as scientific and technological innovation, digital transformation, green and low-carbon development, and talent cooperation.

It will also aim to bring together cutting-edge technologies from around the world and carry out project cooperation between BRICS countries on a regular basis.

Recent advances made by the China-BRICS Artificial Intelligence Development and Cooperation Center and the BRICS Digital Ecosystem Cooperation Network were also unveiled at the event. 

China will build platforms for intelligent manufacturing and robot adaptation, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng said at the forum, and it will also share policy practices for green and low-carbon industrial development, and strengthen foreign investment and cooperation

There will be further support for enterprises engaged in new energy vehicles, solar and wind power, hydrogen energy, energy conservation, environmental protection, as well as resource recycling and utilization, Li added.

The BRICS is composed of eleven countries -- its five original members of Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa -- and six new members admitted in last year and this. They are Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The BRICS countries have deepened cooperation in areas such as industrialization, digitalization and innovation, and achieved a series of practical results, Li said, adding that they should use their unique advantages in terms of markets, resources, and industries to build a closer, more practical, inclusive, and beneficial partnership.

AI technologies must promote inclusiveness and bridge the digital divide, said Dilma Rousseff, president of the New Development Bank. Rousseff, a former president of Brazil, also said more channels must be set up for Global South countries to gain access to AI tools and infrastructure. 

The NDB will play an important role in this, she said, by supporting areas such as digital infrastructure, vocational and technical education, smart manufacturing, and the green economy.

It was also announced at the forum that the International Cooperation Initiative on New Industrialization has raised the number of its member countries to 19 and an action plan has been released. 

The BRICS Forum on Partnership for New Industrial Revolution was co-hosted by the Xiamen government and China’s MIIT, under the theme of Unleashing the Potential of Greater BRICS Cooperation and Achieving Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization.

Editor: Tom Litting