BRICS not a competitor to developed countries: China

BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - are not a competitor to the developed countries, China said on Monday ahead of the grouping's next summit in the country in April.

"The BRICS countries are not developing into a group of emerging markets that set themselves in competition with developed countries," China's Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi told reporters here.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is due to attend the summit besides Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaders of Russia, Brazil and South Africa.

The summit is scheduled to be held in China's Sanya island. This will be the first summit of the BRICS to be attended by South Africa after it was formally admitted into the grouping which was previously known as BRIC.

"I would like to say that bricks cooperation is open and inclusive and this is an important part of the south-south cooperation it also serves as an important bridge in north-south cooperation we believe through this leaders' meeting, the bricks will play a bigger role in all these above mentioned areas," Yang said.

It is very important to enhance dialogues between the leaders although the countries' historical and cultural backgrounds are different, Yang said, adding BRICS nations have played an important and constructive role in tackling global financial crisis and climate change and facilitating economic recovery.

"I believe the BRICS nations will play a bigger role in those areas as a result of the meeting," he said.

The five developing countries has to maintain the momentum of growth with steady economic and social development at home BRICS nations also have achieved effective cooperation in environmental protection, business and commercial and think tank communication, he added.

"We hope the meeting will innovate and promote our cooperation to bring more benefits to our people," he said.

He said Asian countries should forge a peaceful, stable, open and inclusive relationship with the goal of archiving a win-win result.

China has deepened its cooperation with the various countries in the neighbourhood with visits of its leaders last year. The Asian region grew by 8.2 per cent last year emerging as the engine of the world economy.

China will stick to the policy of "building friendship and partnership with neighbouring countries" and work with neighbours to ensure regional peace and stability so as to create a favourable condition for regional development, Yang said.

About China's raise, he said China is still remained a developing country as it had to still had to uplift millions of people from poverty.

China can only help "within the realm of its capabilities," since there are still 150 million Chinese people living in poverty according to the UN's standards, he said about expectations about assistance from China.

"While fulfilling its international obligations, China is contributing to the creation of a better world by handling its own affairs well," he said.

He identified "positive" trends in the involvement toward more balance of international power, deeper reform of the global economic governance system, and greater international willingness to pursue a win-win cooperation.

"I think these three trends will be beneficial to the more just and reasonable development of the international pattern," he said.

Yang, who held a lengthy press conference to interact with the local and foreign media here on the sidelines of the National People's Congress, did not take any questions from the Indian correspondents.