The headquarters building of the New Development Bank (NDB), also known as the BRICS bank, in east China's Shanghai. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By Staff Reporters

Since the beginning of the 2022 BRICS Year of China, China has promoted efficient and pragmatic cooperation focusing on areas of practicing multilateralism, fighting against COVID-19, boosting economic recovery, and accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Key issues including poverty alleviation, sustainable development and people-to-people exchanges are highlights of China's work during its chairmanship. More than 170 activities are planned throughout the year, and more than 70 have been held so far. Fruitful results have been achieved, and recognized by BRICS countries.

To help achieve the goal of poverty eradication and zero hunger, China has carried out a series of cooperation on poverty reduction and food security to promote the development of agriculture and rural areas within other BRICS countries.

Due to the impact of COVID -19 pandemic, the Human Development Index (HDI) has declined for the first time in 30 years, and more than 100 million people dropped into poverty and nearly 800 million people have lived in hunger worldwide, while China's program has made concrete contribution to safeguarding global food security.

BRICS countries are important producers and consumers of agricultural products in the world, and through cooperation, their potential of the agricultural sector can be unleashed to help solve the problem of famine, malnutrition and poverty, said Siddharth Chatterjee, UN resident coordinator to China.

Sustainable development is another key issue. China has launched the BRICS Initiative on Trade and Investment for Sustainable Development, and held dialogues and forums on digital economy and green investment, as well as carrying out a number of flagship joint research projects on sci-tech innovation.

Avijit Banerjee, head of the Department of Chinese Language & Culture at Visva -Bharati University, praised the BRICS countries for providing an inclusive platform for discussing global issues and helping to find a win-win solution.

China has also been committed to pushing forward closer people-to-people exchanges among the BRICS countries.

Since the Xiamen Summit in 2017, activities such as cultural festivals, film festivals, and sports events have been held to bring people's hearts and minds closer. Exchanges among parliaments, political parties, women, youth, media, local governments and organizations led to a deeper understanding of each other.

In May, the Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Culture adopted the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Agreement between the Governments of the BRICS States on Cooperation in the Field of Culture (2022-2026). All parties agreed to uphold inclusiveness and deepen cooperation in the field of culture, and contribute to the progress of human civilization.