In which sectors do the interests of ASEAN and the BRICS countries align sufficiently to form sustainable production and investment links? Under what conditions could a fully-fledged economic network between the two groups take shape by 2035?
The economic foundation for convergence
The economic convergence between ASEAN and the BRICS countries is already taking shape in specific supply chains, investment projects and transport routes.
Chinese companies are expanding production in Southeast Asia, India is increasing its presence in the pharmaceutical and technology services sectors, the Gulf states are investing in infrastructure, whilst the resource base of Russia and Brazil is creating opportunities to link up with regional production chains.
However, cooperation remains fragmented.
Its development is determined not by the creation of a new integration bloc, but by how rapidly the costs of trade, logistics, cross-border payments and regulation will fall.
In which sectors do the interests of ASEAN and the BRICS countries align sufficiently to form sustainable production and investment links? Under what conditions could a fully-fledged economic network between the two groups take shape by 2035?
The economic foundation
for convergence
The economic convergence between ASEAN and the BRICS countries is already taking shape in specific supply chains, investment projects and transport routes. Chinese companies are expanding production in Southeast Asia, India is increasing its presence in the pharmaceutical and technology services sectors, the Gulf states are investing in infrastructure, whilst the resource base of Russia and Brazil is creating opportunities to link up with regional production chains.
However, cooperation remains fragmented. Its development is determined not by the creation of a new integration bloc, but by how rapidly the costs of trade, logistics, cross-border payments and regulation will fall. It is precisely these factors that will determine whether existing links can evolve into a sustainable system of cooperation by 2035.
The institutional link between the two regions is also strengthening. Indonesia has been a member of BRICS since January 2025, whilst Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have been granted partner status within the group. This creates direct points of entry between the economies of South-East Asia and BRICS, although no formal ASEAN–BRICS framework exists.
This configuration is no coincidence.
Since the early 2010s, the BRICS countries have consistently expanded their cooperation with external partners – both individual states and regional organisations.
As early as the 2011 summit declaration, a willingness to cooperate with non-member states was enshrined.
Later, this approach took on a practical dimension: the chairing countries began systematically involving neighbouring states and leading regional organisations in the dialogue.
The convergence of interests is most clearly evident in five sectors.
The first is food.
Russia, Brazil and India are among the largest producers and exporters of food and agricultural resources.
ASEAN countries — Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand — have a steady and growing demand for cereals, oilseeds and fertilisers.
Rice, palm oil, rubber and aquaculture products form the counter-flow.
A relationship of mutual complementarity is emerging, whereby the food needs of some countries are met by the resource base of others.
This is not about a single food security system for the groupings but rather about the convergence of interests between specific producers and consumers.
Fertilisers play a particular role: their supply from BRICS countries supports the intensification of agriculture in ASEAN, creating a sustainable interdependence.
The establishment of a BRICS grain exchange could broaden food exporters’ access to buyers, make price indicators more transparent and lead to more predictable pricing.
For ASEAN countries dependent on grain imports, the introduction of such a mechanism would mean greater access to stable supplies.
At the same time, a grain exchange would stimulate the development of supporting infrastructure — logistics hubs, port facilities, storage systems and financial instruments — which would serve to further deepen the interconnection between the two regions.
The second area is energy.
The energy nexus centres on ASEAN countries’ demand for oil, gas and coal, and the resource base of the largest BRICS economies.
Indonesia is a major supplier of coal to China and India.
An additional factor accelerating energy convergence is the desire of ASEAN countries to diversify their supply sources.
Disruptions in traditional supply channels are prompting governments in the region to seek alternative partners capable of ensuring stable and predictable energy supplies.
In this context, the resource base of the BRICS countries takes on not only commercial but also strategic significance for Southeast Asia: this involves the formation of a long-term foundation for energy interdependence.
An additional advantage of BRICS is the combination, within the group, of major exporters and importers of energy resources.
Some members produce oil and gas in volumes that significantly exceed their domestic needs, whilst others can meet only part of their demand from their own resources.
This complementarity fosters sustainable partnerships: exporters redirect supplies to their partners’ markets, whilst importers gain access to stable energy sources.
For ASEAN, this means the opportunity to connect to existing energy routes and partnerships. There is no need to build relationships with each supplier individually.
At the same time, it is not a single institutional system that is being established, but rather a network of existing bilateral and multilateral ties that is already in operation.
Besides traditional energy sources, this collaboration also extends to the field of renewable energy.
ASEAN countries possess significant potential in solar, geothermal and hydropower, but the realisation of this potential is hampered by the high cost of geological exploration, weak grid infrastructure and a lack of funding.
Research centres and technology companies in the BRICS countries can contribute to the development of geothermal, solar and wind energy technologies, whilst the New Development Bank (NDB) can finance the relevant infrastructure projects.
Such cooperation broadens the agenda for closer ties beyond the exchange of raw materials, adding a technological dimension to it.
The third area concerns critical minerals and industrial raw materials.
Individual ASEAN economies supply BRICS countries with nickel, tin, bauxite and other industrial resources. Indonesia occupies a key position in the global nickel supply chain, making it a critical link for battery production and the development of electric transport in China and India.
At the same time, countries in the region are increasingly focusing on deepening the processing of resources within their own territories.
Indonesia is consistently restricting exports of unprocessed raw materials while encouraging the establishment of processing facilities within the country.
This opens up opportunities for companies from the BRICS countries not merely to purchase raw materials but to participate in creating added value – through joint projects to build smelters and production facilities for the battery industry.
This model of interaction transforms resource complementarity into industrial cooperation, cementing the convergence of these two spheres at the level of long-term investment projects.
The fourth area is electronics and industrial cooperation.
Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand produce semiconductors, printed circuit boards and electronic components, which are integrated into the production chains of Chinese companies.
In return, industrial equipment and electrical engineering products flow in from China.
India is strengthening its presence in certain segments of industrial cooperation, primarily in mechanical engineering and component manufacturing.
A distributed production system is taking shape, in which the manufacturing and technological expertise of the BRICS countries is combined with the industrial capacity of ASEAN.
—tvbrics.com/
