Online Reporter
Nigel Konte
BRICS has brought new hope and depth of character to a world previously dominated by western hegemony.
BRICS countries have collaborated to adapt to the new international reality and mitigate the risks in a changing world system.
The substance of BRICS cooperation is to address a weakening and increasingly uncertain world order.
The previously established world order is losing its ability to address economic, security, social and environmental issues effectively and BRICS is setting in.
Besides playing a complementary role, BRICS countries need to shape or lead international efforts to achieve international cooperation on key agendas of international society.
The post-World War II order is nearing a century now.
Since the 2008 international financial crisis, advanced economies have been working to address the new dynamics and challenges of economic globalisation.
The financial crisis marked a turning point for the West-led economic globalisation, characterised by the shift of capital— and labour-intensive manufacturing sectors to emerging economies, while advanced economies focus on scientific innovation, finance, and service sectors.
The Barak Obama administration, for instance, sought to rebalance the global economy by adopting a cooperative approach within the framework of the G20 but failed.
Until the first term of the Donald Trump administration, economic nationalism and protectionism have become the mainstream thinking of policymakers in the United States.
The U.S. is losing its trust in the interdependent economic partnerships and multilateral institutional arrangements established over the past few decades.
Besides the alarming impact of Covid-19 on the demands of diversified supply chains, the new thinking in the United States is to maintain its monopoly or dominance status in key technologies and financial power by rejecting traditional liberal economic globalisation.
The changing political and economic environment in Washington occurred within a shifting international context. When discussing the shift from the post-Cold War order to an increasingly multipolar order, it mainly refers to the changes in the international economic area.
Based on their increasing financial capacities, reforming international financial institutions was the main agenda in the early cooperation stage of the BRICS countries.
BRICS countries now aim to enhance their voting power in the World Bank and IMF. However, the two major international financial institutions are still led by Americans and Europeans, much to the chagrin of the Global South.
Therefore, BRICS also now work to develop institutions in which they have a big say. The most visible achievement of the BRICS cooperation is the establishment of the New Development Bank, which prioritises funding sustainable development projects in member countries.
Although the BRICS has three pillars in terms of economy, security, and society, its cooperation priorities are economy and development.
The influence of BRICS on international security remains limited, given their relatively weak capabilities and general reluctance to use force in international affairs. Essentially, BRICS countries have collaborated to adapt to a weakening global economic governance by working within the G20 and cooperating through the BRICS.
Unlike the increasingly suspicious attitude of Western countries towards globalisation, driven by trade deficits and concerns about illegal migrants, BRICS countries saw great potential for a new wave of economic globalisation and turned their attention to emerging economies and developing countries.
Brazil strongly enhanced its diplomatic presence and commercial activities in the Middle East and Africa. China has been Brazil’s largest trade partner since 2009.
Guided by this new global and economic vision, leaders turned the BRICS from an investment idea into a political reality.
One priority of the BRICS group was to unlock the development potential by increasing economic cooperation among its members. Within the framework of BRICS, enterprises have become the most active players in exploring emerging market opportunities. The mutual knowledge gap about each other has also been minimised in a fashionable way. By enhancing the economic interactions within the Global South, BRICS countries are likely to adapt to a shifting world economy in which advanced economies are becoming increasingly securitised and protected.
It is noteworthy that economic globalisation has given rise to new understandings and challenges, which does not mean the end of economic globalisation. The new Cold War does not come true if you look at the strong economic link between the United States and China based on an integrated supply chain.
Even under the onshoring, nearshoring, or reshoring efforts of recent U.S. administrations, international trade has continued to grow on a global scale. Countries like Vietnam and Mexico are benefiting from the relocation of supply chains, and trade among different developing regions is getting new dynamics.
China’s RMB accounted for 5.37% of Brazil’s foreign exchange reserves by the end of 2022, surpassing the euro’s share of 4.74%, which reflects the deepening economic ties between Brazil and China. Scholars describe this phenomenon as re-globalisation or new-globalisation. Emerging economies, mainly represented by the BRICS, play an important role in this new wave of economic globalization.
It is the first time since the First Industrial Revolution that more non-Western countries are engaging in overseas investment and financial services on a global scale.
China, India and Brazil are performing their business in the global market rather than playing a bloc game.
One key feature of the new stage of economic globalisation is the increased involvement of more capable players from the Global South. Emerging powers from Asia, Latin America, and Africa have made the current international economic order much broader than the North Atlantic community. The diplomatic and economic presence of emerging powers is increasingly globalised.
The rise of emerging powers has enhanced the dynamics of South-South cooperation. Facing the decoupling or de-risking policies of the U.S. and the EU, respectively, China’s trade volume with the rest of the world is reaching a new level. China’s share of global trade continues to rise, especially among developing regions. The trade volume between China, Latin America and the Caribbean region has surpassed US$ 500 billion in 2024. Brazil’s foreign trade profile is also getting global and diversified. The world economy is benefiting from more driving forces beyond the advanced economies.
Nigel Konte is an economist based in Brazil
