Asserting that BRICS has become an important force on the international stage, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the member countries have supported multilateralism and taken part in global governance in the spirit of equity justice and mutual assistance.

In opening remarks at the 13th BRICS Summit, Xi said the member countries have made progress in various areas in the spirit of pragmatism.

"Over the past 15 years, our five countries have enhanced strategic communication and political trust in the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and equality and explored a sound path to interact with each other. Our five countries have sought synergy between our development policies and drawn on our complementarities. We have made solid progress in various areas of cooperation in the spirit of pragmatism, innovation. And we have forged ahead on our common journey of development," he said.

"Our five countries have supported multilateralism and taken part in global governance in the spirit of equity justice and mutual assistance and we have become an important force on the international stage to be reckoned with," he added.

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit being held in a virtual format is being chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The theme for the Summit is ''BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus''. The meeting was also attended by Brazil President Jair Bolsanaro, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Xi said BRICS members have maintained the momentum of BRICS cooperation overcoming the impact of COVID-19.

"Since the beginning of this year, our five countries overcoming the impact of COVID-19 have maintained the momentum of BRICS cooperation and secured new progress in many areas," he said

"What has happened shows that as long as we pull our mind and our efforts then we can make smooth solid and sustained progress in BRICS cooperation," he added.