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XIAMEN, China, Sept. 4-- The 9th BRICS Summit opened here Sunday, bringing together representatives from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and beyond in this picturesque coastal city to strengthen South-South cooperation and give a greater voice to the world's emerging economies. Even the intermittent rain did not dampen the positive mood at the summit, which runs from Sunday to Tuesay. In particular, the summit is indirectly serving as a venue to help mend ties between China and its neighbor, India, after the recent border standoff between the two countries. UPBEAT MOOD "I think the trend is good, everybody is optimistic," said Atul Dalakoti, executive director of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, who spoke to Xinhua right after attending the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on Sunday afternoon. The Indian businessman commented on Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks in his speech at the opening ceremony that "new growth drivers are yet to emerge" by saying, "we need to think outside the box and look at new engines of growth so that we can push the economic development." "I sense more internal optimism and external confidence," Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a prolific China expert and observer, weighed in by email Sunday night. The chairman of the Kuhn Foundation believed that the "optimism" and "confidence" are driven by two factors: the improving economic situation of several of the BRICS members and China hosting the summit, "which increases the visibility, publicity and international interest." | 
