Leslie Masdorp, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the New Development Bank, said in an interview at his headquarters in Shanghai that China plays a crucial role in the BRICS cooperation mechanism and plays an important role in promoting the development of countries in the "global south". Masdorp said that China is not only the largest economy among the BRICS countries, but also plays a more important and confident global leadership role in the climate change agenda. The Chinese economy is developing towards a higher quality and more balanced direction. The long-term factors that support economic growth are determined, and China is still a dynamic economy. Masdorp is full of expectations for the upcoming 15th BRICS leaders' meeting in South Africa. How to extend the influence of the BRICS cooperation mechanism beyond member countries is a topic of concern for everyone. This year, many African countries (leaders) will participate in the meeting, which is an important platform for us to explore expanding the membership of the New Development Bank. "Masdorp said that the BRICS leaders' meeting held in South Africa will promote dialogue with more countries, especially African countries. The branch established by the New Development Bank in South Africa will face the African continent and serve more new partners. The New Development Bank looks forward to deepening dialogue and cooperation with other development financial institutions, providing more financing for large-scale projects, and exploring the possibility of cooperation with the private sector through the BRICS Business Council and others. On the 15th of this month, New Development Bank successfully issued 1.5 billion rand of bonds in the domestic bond market of South Africa. This is the first time New Development Bank has issued local currency bonds in South Africa and the second time the bank has issued local currency bonds in BRICS countries. Masdorp said that New Development Bank has been committed to supporting member countries' local currency financing and has issued bonds denominated in Chinese yuan in China. Currently, it is one of the largest issuers of panda bonds in the interbank market in China. Following South Africa, the New Development Bank will explore the possibility of India issuing rupee bonds for the first time this year. The New Development Bank is a multilateral development bank jointly established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in 2015. Its aim is to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging economies such as the BRICS and developing countries, and to contribute to global growth and development as a multilateral and regional financial institution. In 2021, the New Development Bank launched an expansion to include Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay as new member states. As of now, the loan amount of the New Development Bank has reached 35 billion US dollars, and nearly 100 projects from member countries have been approved. (New News Agency)