Yesterday, Tuesday, China pushed for the expansion of the “BRICS” grouping, while the Association of Major Emerging Economies seeks to increase its presence in international affairs as a force to counter Western hegemony.
The BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – represent a quarter of the world’s economy, while several countries have expressed interest in joining the bloc ahead of its 3-day summit in Johannesburg, Agence France-Presse reported. .
In a speech on his behalf at the start of the summit in South Africa by Commerce Minister Wang Wendao, Chinese President Xi Jinping insisted that “hegemony is not in China’s DNA.”
He said the talks in Johannesburg were not aimed at “asking countries to choose one side over another, or to create a collective conflict, but to broaden the scope of the engineering of peace and development”.
He continued, “Regardless of any opposition, the BRICS group is a positive and steadfast force of goodwill and continues to grow.”
He added, “Within BRICS, we will establish a strong strategic partnership… and move towards expanding membership,” and “help make the world order more fair and equitable,” according to the French press agency.
China is the biggest economic power in the BRICS group, and its president’s visit to South Africa is his second international one this year, and comes amid Beijing’s efforts to rapidly increase the group’s membership.
White House National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said the US did not realize that the BRICS group was “going to become America’s geopolitical rival”.
Sullivan emphasized that the United States will move in the direction of “strong and positive relations with Brazil, India and South Africa,” and that “we will continue to manage our relations with China, and we will continue to confront Russian aggression.”
The summit in Johannesburg highlighted the rift with the West over the war in Ukraine and the support Russia receives from its BRICS partners as Moscow faces international isolation.
Neither South Africa nor China or India have issued any condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while Brazil has refused to follow the West’s example of arming Ukraine or imposing economic sanctions on Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is targeted by an international arrest warrant, did not attend. Suspected of war crimes in Ukraine, he was content to deliver a pre-recorded speech via video.
Putin sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as his representative.
Putin considered that the sanctions would greatly affect the global economic situation, “by violating all basic norms and rules of free trade and economic life.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will participate in the summit, which has been called by around 50 heads of state.
Representing 40 percent of the world’s population, the BRICS countries have recorded varying levels of development and share a desire to achieve global order.
The group seeks to establish its own development bank as an alternative to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and proposes to reduce dependence on the dollar in international trade.
A post by the Brazilian president on a social network said: “We say we are, we are working on organizing our teams and we want to sit at the negotiating table on an equal footing with the European Union, the United States and other countries.”
The group’s 15th summit is being held under the slogan “BRICS and Africa” and comes at a time when the continent has once again become an arena for diplomatic battles, with the US, Russia and China vying for economic and diplomatic influence.
Launched in 2009 in 4 countries, interest in the group grew and the following year, it expanded with access to South Africa.
Officials say at least 40 countries across the southern hemisphere have expressed interest in joining the group. The list includes countries that have traditionally followed a non-aligned approach, such as Indonesia, and others hostile to the United States and its allies.
Ramaphosa said the BRICS group is “growing in importance, prestige and influence around the world”.
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