China's imports from BRICS countries increased 33.6 percent year-on-year to 473.70 billion yuan ($70.16 billion) in the first quarter of 2017, accounting for 8.1 percent of the country's total imports, official data showed Monday.
China will further increase imports from other BRICS countries, with the figure expected to reach $8 trillion in the next five years, Wang Shouwen, deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told a press briefing.
The BRICS nations still have enormous potential for cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, Wang said. Statistics from MOFCOM show that the total economic volume of the BRICS countries accounted for 23 percent of the global economy, and they contributed to half of global growth in the last decade.
China will further open up its market to other BRICS countries. Starting in 2018, China will host the China International Import Expo to introduce more BRICS products to the domestic market, achieving mutual benefits and a win-win outcome.
BRICS countries will look into enhancing e-commerce cooperation and creating collaboration principles with an action plan for intellectual property rights cooperation, Wang said.
BRICS will reinvigorate the groupings' core role as a multilateral trading system, and step up efforts against protectionism, Wang said. With continued support from the WTO and other international organizations, BRICS nations will continue to fight against trade protectionism.
