China moots BRICS free trade area ahead of Goa summit

K J M VarmannBEIJING: Ahead of the BRICS Summit in Goa, China today mooted a free trade area for the five-member bloc of emerging countries saying that such a move would constitute “significant form of cooperation”.nnBy setting up a free trade area, BRICS countries would be able to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers, give play to their comparative advantages and advance trade and investment liberalisation between them, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesperson Shen Danyang told a press briefing.nnChina has not formally raised the issue for an upcoming BRICS meeting, but many experts have proposed a free trade area, he was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.nnA free trade area would help BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — achieve mutual benefit and development and promote South-South cooperation on a global scale, Shen said.nnSuch a move would constitute “significant form of cooperation”, he said.nnBRICS trade ministers will meet in New Delhi later this week to discuss world economic trends and their influence on BRICS trade and investment which will be followed by the grouping’s summit to be held on October 15 and 16 in Goa.nnThe meeting is expected to deepen cooperation in areas including intellectual property rights, trade promotion and small businesses, Shen said.nnBRICS bloc has made steady progress establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).nnThe NDB is established with an initial subscribed capital of USD 50 billion with total paid-in capital of USD 10 billion.nnThe founding members of the NDB have already brought in capital of USD one billion as initial contribution.nn nnSource: Press Trust of India