BRASILIA – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday called on BRICS countries to work to defend the right to development, take the lead in unity and cooperation, and safeguard multilateralism.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, made the remarks at the 15th Meeting of BRICS National Security Advisers and High Representatives on National Security in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.

BRICS member countries should unequivocally stand out against a wayward power and safeguard the right and space to development for developing countries, he said.

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The top Chinese diplomat also called on BRICS countries to strengthen unity and cooperation to act as the most reliable force in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.

Under the new global circumstances, more and more countries are willing to listen to the voice of BRICS and hope to enter the door of BRICS, he said.

He noted that a transactional approach in international politics and weaponizing global trade will only aggravate the trust crisis among countries and jeopardize global security. Concession leads nowhere and unity is where the hope lies, Wang added.

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Other parties at the meeting agreed that BRICS countries should build consensus and make joint efforts to oppose all forms of bullying, interventionism and abusing tariffs, adhere to multilateralism, defend the common interests of the Global South, and work together to build a multipolar world of peace, security, fairness and justice.