May 1—Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a special visit April 28 to the Shanghai headquarters of the BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) today to congratulate its president, former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, and the NDB team, on the occasion of the bank’s tenth anniversary. He received quite a warm welcome from Rousseff, the bank’s four Vice Presidents, and the bank staff, before the ceremony. In 2014, as President of Brazil, Rousseff hosted the BRICS summit in Fortaleza, whose “Fortaleza Declaration” announced the formation of the New Development Bank.

In his remarks, Xi called the NDB “a pioneering initiative for the unity and self-improvement of the Global South,” Xinhua reported, emphasizing its importance, given that the broader BRICS cooperation has entered a stage of high-quality development. He advised the staff and leadership of the bank “to consider the development needs of the Global South, and to provide more high-quality, low-cost and sustainable infrastructure financing,” and suggesting that it “needs to improve its management and operations,” and “implement more technology, green finance projects, and other help developing countries bridge the digital divide and accelerate green and low-carbon transformation.”

The NDB should also “amplify the voice of the Global South, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Global South, and support the countries of the Global South in their pursuit of modernization,” he said. Both Xi and Rousseff alluded to the current turbulent international situation, Folha de São Paulo’s report made clear. “No matter how the international situation changes, the direction of human development will not change…. China’s development is based on self-reliance and hard work, and the country will firmly protect its rights and interests, as well as the common interests of the international community,” Folha quoted Xi as saying.

Rousseff stressed that “in today’s turbulent world, China has safeguarded the interests of the Global South and firmly supported multilateralism.” She reported that the NDB, which is already the largest issuer of “Panda Bonds” (renminbi-denominated bonds issued by non-Chinese institutions), is now expanding such operations, by issuing similar bonds in other national currencies, and in their local capital markets, while “supporting partners in reducing the risks of currency mismatches and using currency swaps.”

Not discussed were plans to significantly ramp up the bank's lending capabilities, something that BRICS leader Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with Xi, is particularly keen on.