Growing BRICS reflects global transformation

When four new members were welcomed into the BRICS family last year and several countries were invited to be partner countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that the group’s enlargement was a major milestone in its history, and a landmark event in the evolution of the international situation.

That was reinforced on Monday, when Indonesia, the most populous country and biggest economy in Southeast Asia, became the 10th full member of the cooperation platform that originally comprised just four countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Those founding members of the fledgling group came together to promote dialogue and cooperation among themselves and to serve the common interests of emerging market economies and developing countries. South Africa joined them in 2009 to form BRICS. And five became nine last year when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates became official members of the platform.

Before Indonesia’s formal admission, the Southeast Asian nation had already joined Malaysia, Thailand, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Uganda as a BRICS partner after the group’s summit in Kazan, Russia, last year. The steady enlargement of the group and its obvious appeal to countries of the Global South is testimony to it having become the primary channel for strengthening solidarity and cooperation among the Global South nations and the vanguard for advancing global governance reform.

In the face of the rapidly changing world dynamics and increasing global uncertainties and challenges as a result of the developed countries’ efforts to cling to their privileges, developing countries have been drawn together in the shared pursuit of fairer global governance and distribution of development dividends.

The ever-expanding BRICS has thus become a forerunner for reform of the global governance system. BRICS countries, with their large populations, abundant resources, huge development potential, and increasing appeal and international influence, have, by strengthening their solidarity and coordination, made the platform a model of multilateralism and a champion for just global development and security.

In a world that increasingly demands cooperation to address grave and complex common challenges, the expanded BRICS manifests the recognition that common development and sustainable progress require collaboration among nations large and small. The BRICS mechanism thus helps drive home the message that the world cannot carry on as it has.

However, despite the group being motivated to join hands in pursuit of the overarching trend of peace and development, it has to contend with opposition to its aims by the G7 countries, which fear it is moving their cheese.

The developed countries should realize that this is symptomatic of the rising tide of change, as more and more countries, especially those of the Global South, are seeking a fairer, more inclusive global order that is not subject to the United States’ will, as channeled through the dollar-dominated system.

It is only natural that the BRICS grouping should be riding that tide to help shape a more fair, just, and multipolar world order for the benefit of people that have been under the Western thumb for too long. In a world convulsed by turbulence and undergoing profound transformation, the members and partners of the group must embrace the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security; adhere to green and sustainable development paths; and champion true multilateralism characterized by extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.

Above all, they should seek to make BRICS an exemplar of the spirit of inclusiveness and harmonious coexistence among civilizations and lead the way toward the building of a community with a shared future.

Editorial, China Daily