Russia and China want to "strengthen" the economic cooperation of Brics

Presidents Chinese, Xi Jinping, and Russian Vladimir Putin, insisted Thursday on the need to "strengthen" cooperation between Brics countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), in a climate of trade war with states

"Geopolitical conflicts and the escalation of protectionism and unilateralism directly affect the development of emerging markets and developing markets," Xi said on the second day of the Brics summit in New York. Johannesburg

"We must remain committed to multilateralism," he insisted. In this context, "it is necessary that the Brics strengthen their strategic partnership" to make "the next decade another golden decade."

M. Xi called the forum of the five emerging countries, launched in 2009, to "unlock the enormous potential of [leur] economic cooperation".

Vladimir Putin followed him, believing that Brics play "a unique role in the world economy."

"They contribute 42% of world GDP and this share continues to grow", s he is congratulated.

"In 2017, trade between the Brics has increased by 30% and we intend to further develop this partnership," said Mr. Putin, a Brics pin pinned to his suit.

These calls for cooperation US President Donald Trump has unleashed commercial hostilities against Beijing, Brussels and Moscow in recent months

Among other things, he imposed customs duties on steel and aluminum, mainly targeting China, and is now threatening to punitively tax all Chinese imports.

In an attempt to defuse the crisis, Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met in Washington on Wednesday.

The US President promised to revisit the issue of US tariffs on European steel and aluminum. Messrs. Trump and Juncker also announced a series of decisions in agriculture, industry and energy, the exact scope of which remains to be confirmed.