Beijing, Apr 29 (PTI) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for improvement of the management and operations of the New Development Bank of the BRICS countries in his rare visit to its headquarters in Shanghai.

During his interaction with the New Development Bank (NDB) president, Dilma Rousseff, and four vice presidents and other employees, Xi said the bank needs to improve its management and operations and implement more technology and green finance projects, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

He also said that the bank needs to help developing countries bridge the digital divide and accelerate green and low-carbon transformation.

In discussions on the reform of international financial architecture, the bank should amplify the voice of the Global South, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of these countries and support them in their pursuit of modernisation, he said.

Xi stressed that broader BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) cooperation has entered a stage of high-quality development, and that the bank is set to embark on its second golden decade of high-quality development.

The Chinese president called the bank by the five-member BRICS bloc “a pioneering initiative for the unity and self-improvement of the Global South,” and said that it conforms to the historical trend of reforming and improving global governance.

He said that the NDB is the world's first multilateral development institution established and led by emerging markets and developing countries.

The NDB was established in 2014 with an equal contribution of USD 10 billion by all the five members with the purpose of mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member countries.

Xi’s visit to the NDB headquarters coincides with Beijing’s big push for BRICS countries to fight for multilateralism against US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, slapping unilateral levies calling for reciprocal trade.

The US levied up to 245 per cent tariffs against China.

While Trump paused tariffs against other countries, his tariffs came into force against China, which retaliated with 125 levies against US imports.

Xi noted that as the bank's host country, China will always support the operations and development of the NDB. China is willing to strengthen project cooperation with the bank and focus on green, innovative and sustainable development to achieve more results, he added.

Often viewed as a rival to the World Bank, the NDB formally began operations in July 2015, with its headquarters in Shanghai.

In 2021, the NDB began expanding its membership and admitted Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay as new member countries.

Around the same time, China initiated another multilateral bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in which China is the largest shareholder with 26.54 per cent voting shares.

India is the second largest shareholder with 7.58 per cent followed by Russia 5.9 per cent and Germany with 4.1 per cent.

Separately, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaking at the BRICS Foreign Ministers at Rio de Janeiro on Monday said the United States pursues unilateralism and prioritises its own country, placing its own interests above international public interests.

He reaffirmed China's commitment to upholding multilateralism and multilateral trade rules. PTI KJV NPK NPK