Interview With Prof. Xu Hongcai of CCIEE
- Time：2012-06-08
- source：CCIEE
Interview With Prof. Xu Hongcai of CCIEE
by Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues of Expresso
Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues：Do you think the Project for an Investment Bank linked with the BRICS is a useful idea?
Xu, Hongcai: The investment banker Jim O’Neill created the concept of BRIC in 2001. In that time he would probably just consider making more money in the capital market of BRIC countries and never anticipate that today’s meaning of the BRICS. But, the shift in global economic power away from the developed economies towards the developing world has been an inevitable trend. The international community expects that the fourth BRICS summit in New Delhi could further promote global cooperation and the BRICS would play a more important role in the global governance.
Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues：Specialists from the BRICS regularly refer the need for an alternative to the US dollar in the international financial relations and BRICS have been taking steps for trade relations based in their currencies instead of dollars. Do you think this will go ahead?
Xu, Hongcai: In my view, in recent year the BRICS countries’ central bank has signed the currency swap agreements and strengthened financial cooperation that has been leading to two active impacts. First one, for the BRICS, this policy can reduce the exchange rate risk and the transaction cost in their trade action. Secondly, it could help the United States to reduce its reserve currency’s responsibility. So, this will continue to go ahead.
Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues：The Chair of the World Bank will be vacant next June. Do you think it’s time to change the rules and choose someone from the emerging economies?
Xu, Hongcai: Now it is a good chance to change the game rules of international organizations and choose someone from the BRICS. But, this proposal will be certainly opposed by the United States.
Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues：The BRICS must have a strategy regarding the Euro-zone debt crisis, or that’s a problem for Europe alone or eventually the IMF?
Xu, Hongcai: The BRICS should have an active attitude in dealing with the Euro-zone debt crisis. Yet, the support of BRICS must link with bilateral economic cooperation. In other words, the developed countries should take more open policy to export hi-tech products and transfer hi-tech to BRICS in order to promote low-carbon and green development in the world. Meanwhile, there should be more voice of emerging economies in the international organizations such as IMF.
Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues：What do you expect from this summit?
Xu, Hongcai: I hope that this time BRICS could reach more consensuses in multilateral cooperation and global economic governance, especially, in expanding financial and economic cooperation, such as increasing currency swap, opening capital market, and reducing the restraint of trade and investment, and so on.
This article is posted before the BRICS summit at:
http://expresso.sapo.pt/cimei