From August 22 to 24, the leaders of Russia, India, China, South Africa and Brazil meet in Johannesburg for the annual BRICS summit. Made up of five fast-growing emerging powers, this bloc has established itself over the years on the world economic and political chessboard as an alternative to the all-powerful states of the West. This 15th summit will have as a major subject the enlargement of the bloc and the establishment of admission conditions, with a view to developing its global influence.
The abbreviation Bric first appeared in 2001 in a note written by Jim O’Neill, an economist at investment bank Goldman Sachs. The acronym takes the initials of Brazil, Russia, India and China, four emerging powers of the time, middle-income countries, but with strong growth. In his note, the economist predicts that the Bric will be among the greatest world powers by 2050. It was only in 2011 that the abbreviation became an official discussion group. It then takes the name of Brics with the accession of South Africa (South Africa in English, hence the “s”).
With a total population of 3.24 billion, the Brics make up 40% of the world’s population and an estimated 26% share of global GDP. Their combined gross domestic products are $26 trillion. The four founding countries are today among the fifteen largest economic powers in the world: China 2nd, India 5th, Russia 8th, and Brazil 11th. South Africa is in 39th place.
In 2014, in order to match the European powers, the Brics created the New Development Bank (NBD). The latter aims to free them from the bodies inherited from the Second World War, namely the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Based in Shanghai, the economic capital of China, the NBD has a simple goal: to lend money to emerging states to encourage their development and growth. It has injected over $30 billion since its inception.
Also denouncing the supremacy of the US dollar on international economic exchanges, the Brics, who want to promote the use of their currencies, plan to create a common currency. This new global currency is one of the subjects of this 15th summit.
The flourishing growths of the Brics are attracting new suitors. They are about forty to have asked to join this economic club. The Brics will welcome six new members from January, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday (August 24th): Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Emirates. In addition to the meteoric rise of the founding countries, the creation of the NBD greatly contributed to this sudden attraction from the rest of the world for the “club of five”.
