International relations experts claim that the BRICS challenge to the global economic system is not a mere cantrip. They assert that the bloc, which comprises the top emerging markets and represents more than a quarter of the global GDP, might eventually replace the G7 club of wealthy economies. In all practical probabilities, the BRICS could become the G7 counterpart.
The momentous presence of BRICS
A hard-to-ignore drive by the BRICS for global economic and financial reforms has caught worldwide attention, which has all the more affirmed the picture that BRICS could become a G7 counterpart.
Anthony Rowley, a seasoned journalist specializing in Asian economic and financial affairs, believes that the bloc’s efforts to overhaul the international financial and economic structure should be taken seriously as more nations are willing to join BRICS, which is currently made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Rowley elaborately wrote in an article published Saturday by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, opining that no one can now lightheartedly dismiss their challenge to the established economic order. This is because the economies of the BRICS members already make up more than one-fourth of the aggregate global Gross Domestic Product. Also worth mentioning is that the countries of the members of BRICS account for a significantly large chunk of the world population, owning enormous quantities of resources and productive systems and having formidable market shares.
How and Why BRICS seems influential?
The aforementioned article by Rowley quotes South Africa’s top diplomat in charge of relations with the bloc as saying that over 40 nations have either submitted formal applications or articulated interest in joining the union. BRICS leaders will be discussing the organization’s expansion during their summit from August 22 to 24 in Johannesburg.
However, Rowley pointed out that the variety of fields in which BRICS members are extending their influence was more important than size. According to him, it is this diversity that has led the BRICS to adopt a more global viewpoint than other regional frameworks, bringing forth the congenial environment in which BRICS could become the G7 counterpart.
The writer also emphasized how BRICS is different from regional trade and investment agreements in that it seeks to offer members alternative financial sources, particularly through its New Development Bank launching innovative mechanisms for settlements in local fiat and developing several central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The journalist explains how BRICS is a natural pole of attraction because “its chief focus is to promote multilateralism and global governance, not least in the areas of economics and finance.”
China and India
Some believe that these characteristics are threatened by the animosity between China and India, which hold different opinions towards the bloc’s enlargement. New Delhi supports the association of additional nations without necessarily awarding them full membership, in contrast to Beijing, which is pressing for rapid expansion.
According to Hung Tran, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, BRICS “could evolve to become a counterpart to the Group of Seven (G7) in world affairs, resulting in a profound impact on international relations.” He was cited as adding that whether China’s or India’s strategy wins out will determine if this is a good or bad thing and shall also pave the path for how BRICS could become G7’s counterpart.
India has attempted to “resist China’s efforts to turn the BRICS group into a support organization for China’s geopolitical agenda,” with strong anti-US rhetoric, says Tran in his thesis.
It is notably reported that Rowley and Tran’s comments on the function and future of BRICS are preceded by Mohamed El Yattioui’s suggestion. The eminent UAE professor of international affairs and strategy had recently proposed that the BRICS grouping could use the addition of new members to pressure Western countries to embrace changes in international relations and recognize what he called the “new world order.”
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