Russia to host summit of BRIC countries

[South-South Cooperation]

Russia will host the first summit of leaders from the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China - the largest four emerging economies of the developing world.

The meeting represents a important milestone for the BRIC countries which have been at the forefront of global growth and foreign direct investment in emerging market in recent years.

As developed nations work to repair the crumbling global financial system, the BRIC countries will be financing their deficits, this is especially the case for the United States. Naturally, the BRIC countries are demanding a bigger role in the process of rebuilding the global financial system.

''This trip will expand mutual trust, work toward solutions on how to tackle the financial crisis, and solidify economic ties among the BRIC nations,'' Li said, using the common term that is an acronym of the first letters of the four countries' names.

"Goooooooo Team!" -- BRIC Leaders

Other highlights in the realm of South-South Cooperation which will come to pass in Russia next week during this little get together of the BRIC countries include:

- The 60th Anniversary of China-Russia Cooperation

- China and Russia will sign a variety of economic, trade and cultural cooperation deals during the visit

- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a China and Russia led organization of Central Asian States. The group includes the nations of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Western observers, as reported by AP in this article, assert the group has served as a vehicle for Moscow and Beijing to limit Western influence in energy-rich Central Asia.

Personally, I don't think Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan or any of those other countries mentioned above in Central Asia where at the top of the U.S. "to-do" list to woo until the war in Afghanistan. The comment no less holds true considering that times have changed.

- Leaders from Afghanistan, Mongolia, Pakistan and India have been invited and will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as "observers"

That pretty much sums it up. Check back next week for more updates on this topic as the meet and greets begin in Russia. ChinaSouthAmerica will be keeping up to date and bring you all the drama as it unfolds.

China-Peru sign free trade deal

Completing over a year of negotiations, Peru and China signed their free trade agreement into life during middle of the night while most of the Western world slept soundly.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Peruvian First Vice President
Luis Giampietri Rojas at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China,
April 28, 2009. (Xinhua/Fan Rujun)

This makes Peru the second country in Latin America to sign such a deal with China after Chile which signed a agreement with Beijing in 2005.

According to Zhu Hong, deputy general director of the International Department of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, the FTA would come into full affect in 2010.

"The China-Peru FTA is a comprehensive deal, covering goods, service, investment and other fields while the accord with Chile deals with goods only," Zhu said. A complementary deal on service trade was signed with Chile in 2008.

"The pact features a high degree of openness," Zhu said, citing phased, free tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods ranging from China's electronic products and machinery to Peru's fish powder and minerals.

Under the deal, both pledged to further open their service sectors and offer national treatment to investors from the other country.

Trade between Peru and China reached $7.5 billion in 2008.

China is also in Free Trade talks with Australia, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iceland, Norway and Costa Rica.

One thing is certain, the US is not the only one who can sign Free Trade Agreements, China has in all actuality has been far more successful in recent years (thanks in large to political squabbling in the US) at signing trade agreements with strategic partners around the world than the US has.

Looking to the East -- Peru and South Korea to discuss a FTA in March

Peru and South Korea have agreed to hold the first round of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement this March, according to Peru's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Korean President, Lee Myung-Bak (left)

Peruvian President, Alan Garcia (right)
Photo: ANDINA /Jack Ramon

Preliminary work for the FTA was compiled in Lima January 20-21, days after the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) had concluded.

“At the preliminary talks, the two sides agreed upon the scale, formation, process and schedule of the Korea-Peru FTA, and together laid the groundwork for effective negotiations in the future," the ministry said.

The two sides will now examine each others drafts of the Agreement before meeting in March, at which point they will debate and hopefully find a middle ground on how to go about opening each market up to one another.

This is great evidence of something that has been written about on this site since its creation, that is—the Pacific countries of Asia and South America are finding cooperating in both economic and political contexts is beneficial for all parties and increasingly necessary in this global and interconnected world.