Irreplaceable force in global governance

MORE THAN a decade after its establishment, Brics, grouping five major developing countries from four continents, is recognised by international experts as an irreplaceable force in global governance.

Thanks to close co-operation and co-ordination between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Brics has achieved fruitful results that not only benefit the five member countries, but also contribute to safeguarding the interests of developing countries as a whole and improving the global governance system, according to experts.

Brics countries have created a new paradigm for mutual benefit co-operation among emerging and developing economies since the mechanism was established in 2006. Brics has been hailed as an “accelerator” in the transformation of the global economic governance system.

The member countries have managed to increase their say in major international financial institutions and have been steadily boosting the reform of those institutions.

One of the major achievements of the Brics mechanism is that it has helped increase the representation and say of developing countries in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in recent years, experts pointed out.

Evandro Carvalho, director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Brazilian college Getulio Vargas Foundation, said Brics countries have become a significant part in making global economic rules.

Brics countries have demonstrated their vigour and vitality by championing an open and multilateral world order against a growing tide of protectionism from Western countries and the many challenges on the road of global economic recovery, he said.

Meanwhile, Brics countries have established an all-dimensional co-operative dialogue mechanism covering various fields to co-ordinate their standings and voices on major global and regional affairs. Brics countries are heard speaking with one voice on many global occasions.

Liu Jieyi, China’s permanent representative to the UN, spoke on behalf of all Brics countries on April 18 at a high-level political forum on sustainable development, marking the first time the five members spoke with one voice on major international affairs at a UN meeting.

It is also worth noticing that the establishment of the Brics New Development Bank has not only boosted the common development of the five member countries, but has also injected fresh driving force into the mechanism’s leading role in south-south co-operation.

Varaprasad S Dolla, a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University of India, said that today developing countries, particularly Brics members, are able to contribute more to global growth.

“Brics has now emerged as a major block. Therefore, it is likely that they will have a lot more than they had before to contribute to economic governance,” said Varaprasad.

Over the past decade, Brics has grown into an engine driving global economic growth, with their contribution to the world economy rising from 12 percent to 23 percent.

As of last year, Brics countries accounted for nearly a quarter of the world economy and contributed more than half of global growth.

It is widely expected that the upcoming Brics summit, scheduled for September 3 to 5 in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China’s Fujian Province, will usher in yet another golden decade of development for the mechanism.

According to Carvalho, the Brazilian expert, leaders from Brics countries will compare notes on measures and plans for further cementing co-operation at the Xiamen summit. China, currently holding the rotating presidency of Brics, can play a leading role in deepening the co-operation among Brics countries, he said.

Meanwhile, experts have been highlighting the modality of “Brics Plus,” which is aimed at building wider partnership through dialogue with developing countries and international organisations. Forging a more extensive partnership between Brics and other developing countries will make both bilateral and multilateral trade and mutual investment between the countries more effective, experts said.

Varaprasad, for his part, said if Brics has to become truly representative and inclusive, then an initiative like “Brics Plus” is imperative. “Therefore inviting a number of countries from the south to the Brics summit in Xiamen is to be welcomed by one and all,” he said.