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Building BRICS for the future

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• GS Paper 2 India and its Neighborhood, Bilateral Groupings & Agreements, Groupings, Agreements Involving India and/or Affecting India’s Interests, Regional Groupings, Important International Institutions.
• Tags: #BRICS, #G20 Summit, #US vs China, #China vs India

Why in the news?

In August, six new members were inducted into the BRICS grouping, in South Africa. While many believe that this meeting did not have productive results, we need to look at BRICS from the perspective of how it has evolved rather than the results of one meeting.

Reasons for BRICS formation

Economic compulsion

• First, it is important to note that BRICS emerged out of an economic compulsion. It does not provide military or security support to various countries, is not involved in the policing of nations, and does not provide peacekeepers.
• European Allies and Canada have invested an extra $350 billion since 2014, with eight consecutive years of increased defense spending.
• The GDP of BRICS is now 36% of the global GDP and the population of its members will be 47% of the world population by 2050. Therefore, it is important to look at the long-term opportunities that this group presents.
• More members could be inducted, which means that BRICS could pose a serious challenge to the dominance of the G7 comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.

Second, two members of BRICS are China and India, which together contain one-third of the world’s population. The two countries are the fastest-growing economies and are expected to be among the top three economies of the world by 2030.

• Both countries understand that globally, bilateral ties have seen a transformation following the formation of economic blocs such as the European Union or ASEAN, as such blocs accelerate trade and investment.
• While India and China have had bilateral challenges at the political and diplomatic levels since their stand-off at Doklam in 2017, trade between the two countries has continued to grow significantly. That Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the G20 summit in New Delhi will not impact this economic cooperation.

What is BRICS?

 About 

• BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
• In 2001, the British Economist Jim O’Neill coined the term BRIC to describe the four emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
• The grouping was formalized during the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers in 2006.
• South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.

Share of BRICS

• The BRICS brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing 41% of the global population, 24% of the global GDP and 16 % of the global trade.

Chairmanship 

• The chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
• India hosted the chair for the 2021 BRICS Summit.

Initiatives of the BRICS

• New Development Bank
• Contingent Reserve Arrangement
• Customs Agreements
• Launched of Remote Sensing Satellite

Challenges India Faces in its Engagement with the BRICS

Balancing Rival Interests

• India has to balance its relations with China and Russia, which are increasingly seen as strategic rivals by the West.
• China’s rise poses a major challenge and threat to India’s security and interests, especially on issues such as border disputes, maritime security, trade imbalance, technology competition, and human rights.
• Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine war and its alignment with China have also raised concerns in India about its traditional partner’s reliability and credibility.

Protecting/Practicing and Advocating Democratic Principles 

• India has to deal with Western normative expectations, without compromising its autonomy or sovereignty.
• India does not want to alienate or antagonize other countries in the global South, who may see merit in China’s or Russia’s efforts at expanding the membership or influence of non-western forums such as BRICS or SCO.
• India has to pursue a pragmatic and principled foreign policy that serves its national interests and values.

Managing Bilateral Differences

• India has unresolved border disputes and strategic rivalry with China and Pakistan, which affect its relations with the BRICS. India also has divergent views from Russia on Afghanistan, Iran, and the Indo-Pacific issues. India has to manage these bilateral differences while pursuing multilateral cooperation within the BRICS.
• India’s persistent trade deficit with China has raised concerns about the fairness of economic engagement. This trade imbalance could strain India’s economic interests within BRICS and affect its overall economic stability.

 Balancing China’s Dominance 

• China is the largest and most influential member of the BRICS, with its economic, military, and diplomatic clout surpassing that of the other four members. India has to balance its interests and values with its need to cooperate with China on common issues within the BRICS framework.

 Geopolitical Rivalries 

• India’s complex geopolitical relationships with some BRICS members, such as China and Russia, pose challenges to maintaining a united front on various global issues. Disagreements on regional conflicts and security matters could hinder effective cooperation.

Developmental Disparities

• BRICS includes both developed economies like China and Russia and emerging economies like India and South Africa. Bridging the development gap among member countries to ensure equitable benefits from cooperation remains a significant challenge.

Coordination on Multilateral Platforms

• While BRICS aims to reform global governance institutions, including the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund, member countries often have different priorities and approaches to these reforms.

 Varied Security Concerns

• BRICS member countries have diverse security concerns, ranging from terrorism and regional conflicts to cyber threats. Aligning these concerns and coordinating joint security initiatives requires careful negotiation.

 Shifting Global Alliances 

• As geopolitical dynamics evolve, some BRICS members may seek closer ties with countries or organizations outside the group. This can impact the cohesion and collective bargaining power of BRICS on the global stage. 

Polarisation between the U.S. and other parts of the world 

• Many countries have issues with the S.’s stance against China: the U.S. seems keen to impose tariffs and create other barriers to restrict China’s expansion in trade and investment.
• China has made strides in certain areas like communication infrastructure and electric mobility, too, which the U.S. would like to contain. This is expected to get worse. Therefore, countries want to be part of a grouping that involves China too.

Conclusion 

• Finally, the continent that promises economic growth this century is Africa. The way France has intervened in Niger or the manner in which migrants have been treated in Europe provide Africans with a negative image of Europe.
• The fact is that while Europe talks about connectivity, a Strait of Gibraltar crossing is still not in place, partly due to geopolitics and partly due to other concerns. Visa restrictions have pushed Africans to travel to China and see its development more closely than to Europe or the U.S. This makes them believe in China’s potential.
• African countries continue to talk about the freedom they need in choosing partners for investment or trade. India proposed full membership for the African Union at the G20 summit in New Delhi. It is trying to push its own reach within Africa.

Source: The Hindu

 Mains Question

 How do BRICS cooperate and compete with other regional and global organizations? What are the implications of BRICS expansion and outreach for Africa and other developing countries?