BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- As Chinese President Xi Jinping once observed, in the face of global changes of the century, pursuing modernization and working for a more just and equitable international order are the sacred historic missions of Global South countries.

Xi described the BRICS countries as "leading members of the Global South," calling for building BRICS into "a primary channel for strengthening solidarity and cooperation among Global South nations and a vanguard for advancing global governance reform."

Since becoming Chinese president in 2013, Xi has always been a steadfast champion of BRICS cooperation. In Xiamen, he advocated for the "BRICS Plus" program at the 2017 BRICS summit, calling for more active participation from other emerging markets and developing nations. He played a crucial role in propelling the BRICS' historic expansion in 2023, ushering in the era of greater BRICS cooperation.

Effective coordination between BRICS members and other countries in the Global South has been adding more bricks to the global governance architecture. The New Development Bank exemplifies this effort.

Xi said the bank serves as "an important emerging force in the international financial system," which should work to "make the international financial system fairer and more equitable and effectively enhance the representation and say of emerging markets and developing countries."

Over the years, China, under Xi's leadership, has taken concrete steps to advocate for developing countries, help Global South countries enhance their representation and voice in international governance, and promote a more just and equitable international order.

At the 2022 G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, China took the lead in supporting the African Union (AU)'s membership in the G20. In their meeting on the sidelines of the summit, then Senegalese President Macky Sall, who was also the AU chairperson that year, thanked Xi for being the first to publicly support the AU's G20 membership.

The global leadership today remains lopsided, and rebalancing this skewed system is a shared imperative for both the Global North and South, said Paolo Magri, managing director and chair of the advisory board of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, a think tank.

"Global South countries marching together toward modernization is monumental in world history and unprecedented in human civilization," Xi said at the "BRICS Plus" Dialogue in Kazan, Russia, last year, while acknowledging that "the road to prosperity for the Global South will not be straight."

"No matter how the international landscape evolves, we in China will always keep the Global South in our heart, and maintain our roots in the Global South," Xi pledged.