As a member of BRICS, how can South Africa, promote its own and other African countries' economic development and represent the interests of the African continent?

Our country, as a member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa bloc (BRICS), is playing an important role toward the shifting and distribution of power internationally. This shift is expected to give rise to a multi-polar world order.

Our interaction with fellow BRICS states is premised on three levels of engagement: firstly, national, where we advance our national interests; secondly, regional, where we promote regional integration and interaction with specific emphasis on the African Union mandate given to President Jacob Zuma to promote infrastructure development across the continent; and, thirdly, on a global level, where we advocate for a more inclusive global governance system.

The BRICS bloc represents 43 percent of the world's population, approximately one fifth of global GDP, estimated at $13.7 trillion (R120 trillion), as well as combined foreign reserves estimated at $4.4 trillion. Last year the BRICS countries accounted for approximately 11 percent of global annual foreign direct investment flows ($465 billion) and 17 percent of world trade.

South Africa's membership of BRICS contributes to further leveraging economic opportunities for our own development agenda as well as that of the continent. We want to ensure that our membership of BRICS also benefits people on the entire continent.

The Fifth BRICS Summit will constitute another high-level opportunity to further support key priority areas of the African agenda.

Africa is emerging as one of the fastest growing markets with the potential of future growth due to the demographic basis underpinning this growth and the new consumer market that is emerging. The BRICS countries now constitute the largest trading partners of Africa and the largest new investors. The BRICS investment portfolio in Africa is very encouraging and promising.

China became South Africa's top trading partner in 2009. How will membership of BRICS increase cooperation between the two countries?

China and South Africa has established a strategic partnership of equality, mutual benefit and common development. The two countries' enhanced cooperation under the BRICS framework will allow the BRICS member states to play more important roles in the world's economic recovery and push the international order to develop toward a more balanced direction.

In addressing the challenges and accelerating development, China and South Africa may enhance their cooperation under BRICS framework in the following areas:

1. Promote development. As South Africa is China's second largest trading partner in Africa, the two countries' pursuit for mutual development will open up a broader space for the world to develop to a higher level and in greater scope. Whilst India, South Africa and Brazil all have their challenge of poverty alleviation, China still has 150 million people needing to get out of poverty. All the countries regard development as the basic means to improve their peoples' livelihood. Undoubtedly, development and cooperation are the primary political priorities of these countries. South Africa's actual direct investment in China amounts up to $600 million in total, which could be utilized in the poverty reduction projects.

China and South Africa can also carry out further cooperation in peace and development. Leveraging the BRICS platform, the two countries can promote peace in Africa together.

2. Reform the international financial system. Together with South Africa and under the BRICS framework, China may actively promote reforms of the international monetary system, financial institutions and financial regulatory mechanisms. In promoting the international monetary system reform, efforts should be made to improve the international monetary system by promoting diversification and rationalization on the one hand, and, on the other, pushing the gradual adoption of their own currencies and giving up the U.S. dollar in trade settlements among BRIC countries, in which China and South Africa could make concerted efforts.

In the international financial institution reform, transparent elections of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) leaders should be encouraged. In addition to the ultimate realization of equal voting rights for both the developed and developing countries, the IMF should develop a fair and rational procedure concerning the qualification and election of the president and a scientific quota calculation approach with a dynamic readjustment mechanism. The voting rules should be reformed to avoid any one country having the veto power with one vote, so as to make the IMF governance and decision-making better aligned with the requirements of the new global economic reality and order.

3. Build a new international order. China, South Africa and other BRICS countries will make more concerted efforts in promoting multilateralism and democracy in international relations, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the developing countries and addressing the global economic imbalance issue through speeding up economic development in developing countries.