Evaluating BRICS summit

Global Lenses

The Chinese president has warned against expanding military alliances and weaponizing sanctions. President Xi Jinping made the remarks at the BRICS summit, which Putin attended. There is a question that with emerging economies, what influence does this global group possess? The world's emerging economies, including Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa, have repeatedly been seen participating thrice this year due to pandemic. From the war in Ukraine, the trade disputes between China and the United States, and the emergence of pandemic, the global economy is struggling severely. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who hosted the summit this year, criticized the West's response to the Ukraine crisis and urged to resist the global economic meltdown.

"It has been proven time and again that sanctions are a boomerang and a double-edged sword to politicize, instrumentalize, and weaponize the global economy, and to willfully impose sanctions by taking advantage of one's dominant status in the international financial and monetary systems will only end up hurting one owner's interests as well as those of others and inflicts suffering on people around the world."

 

This is an opportunity for Vladimir Putin to show the

world the support of his allies. China, India, and Africa

have so far refrained from criticizing the Russian invasion.

 

"Contacts between Russian business circles and the business community of the BRICS countries are being activated. For example, negotiations are underway to open Indian supermarket chains in Russia to increase the share of Chinese cars, equipment, and machinery in our market. In turn, the Russian presence in the countries of the five is expanding. The volumes of Russian oil deliveries to China and India are growing noticeably. Cooperation in the field of agriculture is developing dynamically. Russia exports significant volumes of fertilizers to the BRICS countries. Russian IT companies are expanding their activities in India and South Africa and our satellites are already providing TV broadcast to 40 million people in Brazil," said Vladimir.

BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - an association of the world's five largest emerging economies. These Countries together account for the world's 41% population and 24% of global GDP.

China stressed the need to promote multilateral

cooperation and called on the BRICS to condemn and reject the Cold War mentality.

BRICS: Cooperation or competition?

It is sending a signal to the world than just Biden that there are many problems and issues at the moment. Countries speak of ideology at a time when the world needs a blueprint. We are seeing long-term global warming and short-term inflation and wars. We are probably experiencing a global recession. It may descend developing countries to the ground that can already be seen in Sri Lanka. The bottom line is to ask the BRICS to be the leaders given the fact that the developed world has defaulted.

Watch full video, "How Climate change and foreign policy are connected"

The summit was set against the backdrop of extraordinary geopolitical phenomena.

Two hypotheses about BRICS:

I) BRICS is trying to chart its direction independently of key players' influence: the Russians, and the Americans.

II) BRICS is more inclined to support Russia.

What is the truth?

There is the notion that Russia will play a key role and garner support from the BRICS to some extent. The impression is based on the context of the global narrative that countries will have to support Russia because it is a member of the BRICS. But it is also important to keep in mind that the BRICS countries, especially China, India, South Africa, and Brazil, are aware of what is happening in the global political landscape and its implications in terms of economic security. The recession we are heading into the global economy makes it very difficult to say that BRICS is only supporting one country. All the BRICS members realize that it is important to strive and stabilize the global political arena, and the fact that the global development agenda and the overall global economic structure are at one and the same time very fragile makes it pertinent to move forward. 

Against the backdrop of strained relations between

 the United States and China, Americans fear

that the latter could use the bloc to advance

its political agenda at the expense of the former’s geopolitical interests.

Multilateral dialogue is taking place whether in the form of BRICS or QUAD. There are several global issues to deal with. This is not a new Cold War but an interesting phenomenon. India is part of it. (It is also part of the QUAD - the US-led alliance). India is playing a mediating role. However, it is not alone that stays neutral. Many countries want to remain neutral. They want to work with all the global players and the great powers and don't want to be divided on the basis of their ideology.

Read more: Changing geopolitics of Europe: Ukraine-war-driven changes

This is Putin's first meeting with major economies

since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Is it a platform to show the international community that sanctions against Russia are backfiring given the support of some key international players to Russia?

The idea of ​​supporting Russia or the United States is nonsense. Each of these nations is looking for its own interests: Brazil is talking about the vision that they are open to any kind of economic cooperation. India and Africa talked about poverty. At this point, when serious issues are raising their head, it doesn't matter who you are with. Inflation is also a major problem in developed countries right now amid rising oil and food shortages.

The West aims to impose more sanctions

on Russia to bring it to political concessions.

While the Chinese and Indians are trying to buy oil

 and gas at cheaper prices.

It is seen as somehow replenishing the Russian budget.

Sanctions: A measure to avoid or deepen the crisis?

Everyone is worried about themselves looking at the case of Sri Lanka. Just looking at the impact on African economies, including access to food, value chains, and pricing, the situation is quite worrisome. Trying to beat inflation through interest rate hikes and austerity measures is not bearing fruit. In Africa, we saw what the sanctions did to Zimbabwe and how the sanctions harmed the lives of ordinary people as they were punished for what their political leaders could not deliver. They put the country in crisis due to a lack of governance. So, this is something we have to really think about whether the west is really challenging Russia or basically creating a deep crisis in people's lives and livelihoods. This is going to be even more unpopular and we will see such a situation becoming unbearable.

The total population of the BRICS is over three billion

and the total GDP is over $22.3 trillion.

Could the BRICS be an alternative to G7?

It will be hasty to say but now it's clear that because of interconnectedness, we will have to find some more solutions to these serious concerns. If Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues for years, there will be fatigue. People from all over the world are really suffering and poor countries are being affected the most. Japan has been very involved in Africa as China and Japan are moving forward with TICAD8 which stands for Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Tunisia. They will not only talk about vaccine diplomacy, they are going to talk about these international issues. So, it doesn't matter whether BRICS is ​​positioning itself as an alternative to the G7 or not. The shared concern is to enable peace and find solutions and strengthen the economy and ensure sustainability. If the players involved are going to address common issues such as climate change, sustainability, and food insecurity, we need more of these multilateral dialogues.

What should be the way forward for the global community?

This is a situation where you need lifelines. You don't care who sends you the flotation device when you're drowning. It is really a matter of life or death. In the long term, the world is already witnessing the devastating effects that are adding to the food chain's woes. For example, India is having a hard time. They used to export wheat. Now, they may have to import it. This means that global prices are bound to escalate, and you have the same thing in the United States when it comes to harvesting wheat in the winter. Its yields declined incredibly after a very dry season. These insecurities are the ones that really matter. I can't eat and live. I don't have energy. I can't run my economy. These are things that have to be dealt with seriously, and not an ideology. What is not coming from the West right now can come out of the BRICS because of the banks and the methods and the means they have to do what they plan for.

In 2020, India and China were on the brink of a major military confrontation. There was violence on the border between the two countries.

This is why there is a common feeling among Indians, for example, that the Chinese will always use platforms like the BRICS to advance their geopolitical dominance.

This is seen as the hurdle in delivering upon BRICS objectives.

 

The most critical problems:

The outcome of the war in Ukraine; high inflation,

and disrupted grain supply are widely seen as possible triggers for a recession in the future.

Will BRICS work on them?

There are a lot of promises and opportunities. There are so many countries that really want to sit around the table, they want to have their representative point of view. They are thinking regionally and globally beyond the national interest. We are clearly in a global crisis on many levels. We have to come together and should diminish following ideologies. We are all human beings and the more we can deliver on these common interests and values, the better because if we engage in too much ideological warfare, these problems will become more chronic.

Read more: Biden's visit to Asia: A move to contain China?

It seems that the US and China are leading the way

in the conflict because the Americans have made it clear

 that as far as China's strategy is concerned, it is the biggest threat to stability and US objectives in the near future.

BRICS as a savior to stave off a food crisis?

We have to get away from the idea that a single group can do it. It's about the multipolar, multidimensional approach. It is always about strengthening multilateralism, the United Nations and the WTO, and so on. 

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