China will give $80 million in funding for BRICS cooperation plans, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday, while the bloc of five emerging countries pledged to oppose protectionism, Reuters reports. Xi offered 500 million yuan ($76.4 million) for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan, and another $4 million for projects at the group’s New Development Bank (NDB) during a three-day leaders summit in the southeastern city of Xiamen. China’s new contributions to BRICS pale in comparison to its $124 billion pledge earlier in May for Xi’s own Belt and Road initiative, which aims to expand links between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond as a new way to boost global development. The announcement came amid questions over the relevance of BRICS and China’s commitment to the NDB in light of the Belt and Road initiative and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, both key efforts by Beijing to bolster its global influence.
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