The BRICS summit is kicking off Tuesday in South Africa and will continue through Thursday. The goal of the BRICS bloc is to “organize the developing Global South,” according to Reuters. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stated that the “BRICS bloc is not meant to rival the United States and the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy economies.”
Reuters reports that because of tensions brought by the Ukraine war and the rivalry between Beijing and United States, leaders from China and Russia desire a stronger and expanded BRICS bloc, however, they are being met with hesitation due to U.S. and European global dominance.
President Lula said Tuesday, “We do not want to be a counterpoint to the G7, G20 or the United States. We just want to organize ourselves."
The summit will be hosting China’s Xi Jinping as well as Vladimir Putin of Russia (who will join virtually due to his international arrest warrant). Also joining will be Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
"I am confident that the upcoming summit will be an important milestone in the development of the BRICS mechanism," stated Xi after arriving at the summit.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded, “We share your view, President Xi, that BRICS is a vitally important forum which plays an important role in the reform of global governance and in the promotion of multilateralism and cooperation throughout the world.”
China, the second-largest economy in the world, is dealing with a slowdown, while South Africa struggles with power crises. Russia, under sanctions for its actions in Ukraine, aims to demonstrate its international support. India and Brazil have shown varying levels of engagement with Western nations. India and China have disputes along their border, making consensus-based decisions challenging for the group.
Russia would like to bring new members into the group. Indian Foreign Secretary, Vinay Kwatra said his country has a “positive intent and open mind,” while Brazil remains concerned about weakening the bloc’s influence.
According to Reuters, the “grouping's pledge to become a champion of the developing world and offer an alternative to a world order dominated by wealthy Western nations is already finding resonance. Over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say South African officials.”
