Fifth BRICS Ministers of Communications Meeting Held in Brasília, Brazil

The Fifth BRICS Ministers of Communications Meeting was held in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, with Vice Minister Chen Zhaoxiong of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) leading the Chinese delegation.

Vice Minister Chen Zhaoxiong pointed out that developing the digital economy represents a shared opportunity and broad consensus among countries worldwide. With their vast markets and complementary economies, the BRICS countries possess a solid foundation and promising prospects for cooperation in information and communications technology (ICT). Seizing the opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, deepening exchanges and collaboration in the digital economy among BRICS nations, and accelerating the digital transformation of societies and economies are both timely and highly significant.

Chen Zhaoxiong noted that President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to accelerate the establishment of practical cooperation initiatives—including the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution, the ‘Innovation BRICS’ Network, and the BRICS Future Networks Research Institute—to enhance the competitiveness of BRICS countries. MIIT stands ready to uphold the open, inclusive, mutually beneficial BRICS spirit and work closely with ICT regulatory authorities across BRICS nations to implement the consensus reached at BRICS Leaders’ Summits within the ICT domain. Together, we will advance stable and sustainable BRICS ICT cooperation, jointly promote inclusive and sustainable development of the digital economy, and make due contributions toward forging a new ‘Golden Decade’ of BRICS cooperation.

To implement outcomes of BRICS Leaders’ Summits and deepen ICT cooperation among BRICS countries, Vice Minister Chen Zhaoxiong proposed three initiatives:

Strengthen communication and coordination to jointly build a new type of partnership. Uphold the spirit of a new type of partnership and fully leverage the role of the BRICS Future Networks Research Institute to enhance policy coordination among BRICS countries in areas including ICT technological innovation, infrastructure development, industrial advancement, digital governance, and cybersecurity assurance.
Deepen open cooperation to jointly expand international consensus on development. Enhance alignment with multilateral ICT mechanisms and forums under international organizations such as the United Nations and the G20, strengthen collective advocacy, and jointly promote more BRICS ICT standards, rules, and consensus to be elevated into international standards, international rules, and international consensus.
Optimize the market environment to jointly pursue inclusive and sustainable development. Foster a fair, equitable, innovative, inclusive, and non-discriminatory market environment, and actively encourage and widely engage ICT enterprises—especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—in BRICS collaboration.

This meeting conducted in-depth discussions on key topics including ICT policy priorities among BRICS countries, government–enterprise cooperation, strengthening BRICS collaboration within multilateral frameworks, and advancing digital transformation. The meeting adopted the outcome document of the Fifth BRICS Ministers of Communications Meeting—the Brasília Declaration—which clarifies the mandate of the BRICS Future Networks Research Institute, affirms consensus on encouraging stakeholder participation in BRICS ICT cooperation, deepening practical collaboration across multiple domains—including infrastructure interconnectivity, digital technological innovation, digital transformation, and digital governance—and establishing the Digital BRICS Task Force.

At the BRICS B2B (Business-to-Business) Enterprise Dialogue’s sub-forum on ‘Network Access in Rural Areas and IoT Applications in Agriculture,’ Liu Duo, President of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT, hereinafter referred to as ‘CAICT’), delivered a keynote speech titled ‘Current Status of Rural Broadband Access and Applications in China.’ She shared China’s experience and progress in rural broadband access and applications with experts and business representatives from Brazil, Russia, South Africa, and India, focusing on three aspects: China’s universal service policies and practices in telecommunications, the current status of rural broadband network development, and rural broadband applications.

Since the inaugural BRICS Ministers of Communications Meeting in 2015, CAICT experts have consistently provided strong support to MIIT in promoting ICT cooperation among the five BRICS countries. They successfully facilitated the establishment of key ICT cooperation mechanisms—including the BRICS Future Networks Research Institute and the Digital BRICS Task Force—laying a solid foundation for comprehensive, pragmatic cooperation among BRICS countries in ICT technological innovation, policy research, industry promotion, infrastructure development, international collaboration, and talent cultivation.

On August 6, under the guidance of MIIT and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, CAICT established the China Branch of the BRICS Future Networks Research Institute in Shenzhen. This initiative marks a further concrete step toward implementing President Xi Jinping’s instruction to ‘accelerate the establishment of practical cooperation projects such as the Future Networks Research Institute,’ and advances pragmatic ICT cooperation among the five BRICS countries. Building on this milestone, CAICT’s expert team will join forces with domestic stakeholders to further deepen pragmatic ICT cooperation with BRICS countries, supporting Chinese ICT enterprises in expanding internationally.

The Chinese delegation to the Fifth BRICS Ministers of Communications Meeting comprised responsible officials and experts from MIIT’s Department of International Cooperation, Department of Informatization and Software Industry, Bureau of Cybersecurity Administration, Department of Information and Communications Development, Heilongjiang Provincial Communications Administration, CAICT, and the National Industrial Information Security Development and Research Center.