JOHANNESBURG, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged BRICS countries to fully explore their potential in cultural and people-to-people exchanges at the Plenary Session of the BRICS Johannesburg Summit.

He proposed joint touring exhibitions by the BRICS alliances of museums, art museums, national galleries, and libraries and closer cooperation in cultural, creative and tourism industries and at the sub-national level.

"We the BRICS countries boast great civilizations. When it comes to cultural and people-to-people exchanges, there is a lot we can do together," said the Chinese president.

Noting that such exchanges have notably gained momentum over the last year or two, Xi said the BRICS should aim at greater people-to-people connectivity and more popular support for BRICS cooperation through extensive exchanges in cultural, educational, health, sports, tourism and other areas.

"This way, we can spread the BRICS story far and wide to further enhance the mutual understanding and traditional friendship among our people," he said.