1. Introduction

The partnership adheres to the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation among BRICS countries, following the principle of consultation, joint construction, and sharing. The aim is to turn the cooperation vision of the second golden decade of BRICS countries into reality by deepening cooperation in the fields of digitalization, industrialization, innovation, inclusiveness, and investment among BRICS countries.

There are six main areas of partnership cooperation, one is to strengthen policy coordination in the context of the New Industrial Revolution. The second is to strengthen human resource cooperation on cutting-edge technology and skills. The third is to promote communication and cooperation in the digital field. The fourth is to promote project cooperation and improve industrial capacity building. Fifth, promote cooperation in inclusive growth projects. Sixth, deepen stakeholder cooperation and promote resource complementarity.

The decision-making body for partnerships is an advisory group, which consists of a chairman, members, working group, and secretariat. The chairman is a bureau level official from the BRICS presidency, responsible for leading various activities of the partnership. The members are composed of officials from the industrial sectors of the BRICS countries, and the advisory group can establish working groups to complete various tasks of the partnership. The rotating presidency establishes the Secretariat of the Advisory Group to provide support for the Chairman of the Advisory Group.

The key cooperation projects of the partnership mainly include: firstly, the innovation base of the BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership, promoting cooperation in the field of industrial innovation. The second is the initiative of the BRICS United Nations Industrial Development Organization Industrial Capacity Center to carry out capacity training and exchange of policies and standards. The third is the BRICS startup cooperation initiative to promote cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises. The fourth is the BRICS technology transfer center, promoting the transfer of scientific and technological achievements to developing countries. The fifth is the BRICS Future Network Research Institute, promoting cooperation in emerging technology fields. The sixth is the Digital BRICS Task Force, which promotes cooperation in the fields of digital economy and digital governance.

2. Development History

Currently, the New Industrial Revolution (also known as the "Fourth Industrial Revolution") characterized by digitization, networking, and intelligence is in the ascendant, with new technologies, industries, and models flourishing, and production methods and business models undergoing profound adjustments. The BRICS countries have similar stages of industrial development, strong industrial complementarity, similar development strategies and common interest demands, and have certain advantages in terms of industrial foundation, market size, resource endowment, etc. They also have a good foundation for cooperation in fields such as mechanical manufacturing, electronic information, energy resources, etc. Seizing new opportunities for the development of the new industrial revolution and deepening industrial cooperation has become a consensus among the BRICS countries.

The first Russian Conference of Industry Ministers in 2015 established a consensus among BRICS countries on expanding industrial cooperation in key areas and taking joint actions. In 2017, the Second Conference of Industry Ministers in Hangzhou, China formulated seven action plans for BRICS countries in production capacity cooperation, policy coordination, and infrastructure construction. In particular, the 2017 BRICS Leaders' Meeting in Xiamen, China, outlined a beautiful vision for the second "Golden Decade" of BRICS cooperation, requiring countries to strengthen cooperation in areas such as production capacity and industrial policies, new industrial infrastructure and standards, small and micro enterprises, and jointly seize the opportunities brought by the New Industrial Revolution to accelerate the industrialization process of BRICS countries. Faced with a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, combined with the theme of the 2018 BRICS Leaders' Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, China and South Africa jointly submitted an initiative to establish the BRICS' New Industrial Revolution Partnership "at the Third BRICS Industry Ministers' Meeting held in Maghresburg, South Africa on July 4, 2018. The initiative was unanimously agreed upon by all parties and the partnership was decided to fully launch its operation. This initiative aims to adhere to the principles of consultation, co construction, and sharing, focusing on the five key areas of digitization, industrialization, innovation, inclusiveness, and investment, and promoting BRICS countries to seize the important opportunities of the new industrial revolution and achieve common development. Subsequently, at the 10th BRICS Leaders' Meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa from July 25 to 27, 2018, BRICS leaders unanimously approved the establishment of the BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership and decided to fully launch the operation of the partnership, establishing an advisory group composed of representatives from the industrial sectors and other relevant departments of the BRICS countries.

In September 2019, the second advisory group meeting of the BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership was held in Brasilia, and the goals, vision, organizational structure, cooperation areas, and next step work plan of the New Industrial Revolution Partnership were determined. The goal and vision of the BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership is to uphold the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, cooperation, and win-win, and to deepen cooperation among BRICS countries in the five major areas of digitization, industrialization, innovation, inclusiveness, and investment, in accordance with the principles of consultation, joint construction, and sharing. It aims to promote the realization of the beautiful vision of the second "Golden Decade" of BRICS cooperation. The main areas of cooperation include: firstly, encouraging BRICS countries to conduct policy dialogues, round tables, seminars, share best practices, and digital transformation policies, strategies, and plans. The second is to encourage BRICS countries to engage in human resource development cooperation in cutting-edge technology. The third is to share information and best practices in fields such as digital design and manufacturing, digital economy, etc., promote industrial innovation and technological research and development in BRICS countries, and enhance the ability of BRICS members to respond to the challenges of the new industrial revolution. The fourth is to encourage BRICS countries to take measures to establish industrial science and technology parks, innovation centers, technology enterprise incubators, and enterprise networks in BRICS countries. Promote the implementation of initiatives or projects such as the BRICS Future Network Research Institute, the Digital BRICS Task Force, the Technology Transfer Center, the Youth Scientists Exchange Program, and the Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Exchange. The fifth is to promote the joint implementation of pilot demonstration infrastructure projects for the New Industrial Revolution, so that more people can benefit from the industrialization process.

During China's presidency in 2022, a total of three BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership Advisory Group meetings were held, all of which were held via video. The work plan for the BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership (Revised) and the BRICS Digital Transformation Cooperation Initiative for Manufacturing Industry were reviewed and approved, and consensus was reached on the text of the Joint Declaration of the 6th BRICS Conference of Industry Ministers.