(ECNS) -- The 16th BRICS Summit concluded in Kazan, Russia on Thursday. It is the first summit after expansion, which admitted five new members, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, in January this year.
Why is the BRICS so attractive? What role does BRICS play in today's international arena? How does China promote the steady development of BRICS cooperation? What opportunities and challenges will the expanded BRICS face?
The latest W.E. Talk has invited Xu Feibiao, director of the Center for BRICS and G20 Studies with China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, and Alexey Malinin, founder of the Center for International Interaction and Cooperation and member of the Digoria Expert Club think tank, to discuss related issues.
As BRICS becomes more attractive, how does it seize the opportunities?
BRICS plays a very important role in current geopolitical and geoeconomic trends, said Malinin.
Over the years, BRICS cooperation has achieved fruitful results in the fields of politics, security, economy, trade, finance, and people-to-people exchanges. BRICS is becoming more and more attractive to the rest of the world.
World Bank data show that from 2010 to 2022, the global GDP share of BRICS countries has risen from 18 percent to about 26 percent year-on-year; by the end of 2023, the BRICS New Development Bank had approved 105 projects applied for by member countries, with a total investment of $35 billion; after the outbreak of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2023, the expanded BRICS provided a strong voice via video summit from South Africa…
Malinin believed that BRICS allows more countries in the Global south, especially in Africa and Latin America to see an alternative. “BRICS is not an alternative to NATO or to European Union itself, but an alternative vision of the world, a vision of cooperation, and an approach to building partnership,” he said.
He noted that one of the most important principles of BRICS is equality. It won’t promote the interests of its member states by the interests of other countries.
2024 marks the beginning of BRICS cooperation in a larger scale, promising greater opportunities to its members.
“As BRICS gets bigger, its influence will increase,” said Xu, adding that the join of new members have brought resources, power, markets, programs and ideas to BRICS cooperation. “With more members and more resources, BRICS is able to do more things,” he said.
Besdies, the expanded BRICS covers the major developing countries, holding great potential in dealing with regional governance issues, Xu added.
China contributes wisdom to BRICS cooperation
As a founding member of the BRICS cooperation mechanism, China is a staunch supporter and participant in it who has been devoting itself to BRICS cooperation.
“China is the main driver for every transformation and upgrading of BRICS,” Xu said.
China’s solutions to global governance, including the idea of a community with a shared future for mankind, a trio of initiatives -- the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, the principle of consultation, contribution and shared benefits, and the new concept of cooperation in international relations with win-win cooperation as the core, have been widely adopted in BRICS cooperation, he noted.
“China has actively proposed issues and cooperation plans in BRICS cooperation, such as cooperation on artificial intelligence and the new industrial revolution, and it has also contributed to BRICS cooperation in terms of capital, technology and development opportunities, providing opportunities for the development of all parties," Xu added.
Malinin further emphasized that this kind of cooperation is based on mutual benefits and has a strong appeal to all parties.
BRICS offers development opportunities for the Global South
Both experts said that the BRICS cooperation has brought the Global South a wealth of development opportunities.
BRICS is widely recognized by developing countries as their own platform and there are very few such substantial and influential platforms that are not dominated by western countries on a global scale, said Xu.
According to Malinin, one of the most important bases of the BRICS cooperation is equality. There is no dominant power in BRICS, which will make other countries accept its rules and its wish, he said. “BRICS is a platform for development and cooperation.”
Media reports have shown that upon expansion, BRICS countries account for nearly half of the global population and one-fifth of global trade.
In Xu’s opinion, BRICS countries have the most promising markets globally, with high output of energy, food and minerals, and they see rapid development in science and technology. “Many countries hope to join BRICS,” said Xu.
Malinin noted that BRICS is not about imposing an ideology on other countries. “There is a common desire to build a multipolar world, but it's not about the ideology. It's about development and mutually beneficial cooperation,” he said.
The expanded BRICS is an inclusive, mutually respectful and equitable consultative platform with strong influence, Xu said.
According to Xu, the BRICS cooperation mechanism is becoming an important platform for the Global South to strengthen solidarity and cooperation and safeguard common interests.
“This will promote global governance and international order to move forward in a more fair, just and reasonable direction,” he added.
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