India should avoid divisions among BRICS: Chinese media

Beijing: India should shed its "long-standing bias against China" and avoid divisions among the five-member BRICS bloc specially in the backdrop of US attempts to rewrite international rules, a Chinese media report said Thursday.

"India should focus on how to improve solidarity within BRICS, especially to overcome its long-standing bias against China due to historical reasons. New Delhi believes that Beijing should reflect on why it is always misunderstood by its neighbouring countries. But India also needs reflection," an article in the state-run Global Times said today.

"Currently, divisions in monetary policy are particularly sharp among major economies. After the Federal Reserve Board raised interest rates, emerging economies including BRICS are seeing capital outflows. Meanwhile, geopolitical competition in the Middle East and Europe, as well as rising terrorism threats, is influencing the world economy, to which BRICS is not immune," it said.

India which took over the BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- Presidency is scheduled to host the summit of the bloc later this year which is likely to be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Today's article came ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting starting in Shanghai tomorrow.

Additional Finance Secretary Dinesh Sharma and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan were scheduled to attend the meeting.

The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) headed by eminent Indian banker K V Kamath which is headquartered in Shanghai is set to sign a headquarter agreement with China on Saturday.

"The US attempt to write the rules has placed BRICS in a disadvantageous situation. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was officially signed in Auckland this month, with no BRICS member yet included," it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that during its presidency, India will strive to come up with responsive, inclusive, collective solutions, the article said.

"Modi proposed 10 steps at the Ufa conference for boosting cooperation, including a BRICS trade fair, a railway research centre, audit institution cooperation, a digital initiative, an agricultural research centre and a film festival. India is making concrete efforts to enhance BRICS cooperation," it said.

"Yet Modi should have come up with more constructive suggestions for global governance. India's economic growth remains the fastest among the BRICS members. As the chair of this year's summit, New Delhi should not only show its strong economic vitality, attract foreign investments, enhance its national strength, but also present itself as a major power on the multilateral occasion," it said.

"Apart from holding the pen in writing global financial system reforms and trade system construction, India should play a constructive role in regional and international affairs," it said.