Xi says collective rise of Global South a clear sign of great changes in the world

The collective rise of the Global South is a distinctive feature of the great transformation across the world, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, in addressing the BRICS Plus leaders' dialogue in western Russia's Kazan City.

Xi made the statement in his speech themed "Combining the Great Strength of the Global South to Build Together a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind" at the dialogue which is part of the 16th BRICS Summit.

"Global South countries marching together toward modernization is monumental in world history and unprecedented in the process of human civilization. At the same time, peace and development still faces severe challenges, and the road to prosperity for the Global South will not be straight. Standing at the forefront of the Global South, we should use our collective wisdom and strength, and stand up to our responsibility for building a community with a shared future for mankind," he said.

The first-ever summit of an expanded BRICS is taking place from Tuesday to Thursday in Kazan, the capital city of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan. Xi flew in on Tuesday to attend the event at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BRICS began with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has now evolved into an influential international cooperation mechanism with an expanded membership.

Besides the countries that officially joined the BRICS family, over 30 other countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Türkiye and Azerbaijan have either formally applied for or expressed interest in membership.

Xi says collective rise of Global South a clear sign of great changes in the world

Xi says collective rise of Global South a clear sign of great changes in the world

Xi says collective rise of Global South a clear sign of great changes in the world

China's top legislator Zhao Leji has highlighted the importance of upholding, improving and running China's foundational political system, the system of people's congresses, to good effect.

Zhao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the remarks during a research tour in northeast China's Liaoning Province lasting from Monday to Thursday.

Zhao visited several cities on this tour, including Dandong, Dalian and Shenyang, carrying out extensive research at the offices of the local people's congress standing committees, while also presiding over symposiums.

During these engagements, he asked local people's congresses to align their efforts with the specific circumstances of their respective regions to promote economic and social development and reform tasks.

Zhao also took the time to visit legislation outreach and community deputy liaison offices, enterprises, villages and rural households. During these visits, he engaged in profound exchanges with both deputies to the people's congresses and local residents.

In the course of such interactions, he pointed out that people's congresses should consciously practice whole-process people's democracy, establish sound mechanisms for gathering public opinion and wisdom, and ensure the effective performance of deputies' responsibilities in accordance with the law.

China's top legislator stresses improving quality of work of people's congresses