BRICS Summits have undergone a rapid evolution, from nearly disappearing during the COVID-19 pandemic to garnering significant international attention. Notably, the number of official member countries has increased from five to nine since the beginning of 2024, with the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and United Arab Emirates, to the original grouping of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. Furthermore, 13 additional nations have become partner countries, namely Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, with some having applied for official membership, such as Turkey did last September.
The BRICS most recent summit in Kazan, Russia, held on October 22-24, was particularly revealing of the ultimate intentions of the growing group, specifically, transforming the global order to better benefit the Global South, as represented by BRICS. Vladimir Putin’s grievances with the West alone have clearly shifted the rhetoric of this summit further away from Western interests. However, Putin alone could not have pushed the BRICS agenda towards a more confrontational stance without the consent of China’s President Xi Jinping. Indeed, Putin's reliance on China has grown considerably in sustaining his ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, China's role in driving the expansion of BRICS suggests a strategic alignment that could reshape the group as a complementary component of the Belt and Road Initiative, with China positioned as a "primus inter pares."
The outcome of the summit was summarized in the Kazan declaration, which detailed twelve points that resonated as Cold War, anti-Western rhetoric. The declaration makes use of the same concepts supported by liberal democracies, from democracy to cooperation and the respect for international law, including non-nuclear proliferation. This contrasts markedly with the political choices of many of the regimes represented in BRICS, let alone Putin’s aggression to Ukraine and his threat of using nuclear arms. In addition, the declaration criticizes the West for failing to uphold its own values, while simultaneously appropriating them. Another important point in the document is the high standing attached to the United Nations, namely its centrality for the cooperation of sovereign states to achieve peace and international security. Such support, though, is by no means a blank check to the UN, as it comes with a strong push for reform to better represent the interests of the Global South. It also discusses the redesigning of the international monetary system, including the reform of multilateral institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, while supporting non-western institutional alternatives to these bodies, such as the New Development Bank.
Regarding the push towards de-dollarization, introduced at last year’s summit in South Africa, the Kazan declaration has not gone as far as Putin likely expected, but further steps have been taken. The “BRICS Clear” – a cross-border settlement and depository structure designed to trade securities without the need for dollar conversions using block-chain technology and digital tokens backed by national currencies – was not yet agreed upon. This is not surprising as some of the BRICS members, the UEA in particular, are still pegged to the U.S. dollar, and many worry that the push will be towards the use of RMB as the dominant currency. Still, the push from Russia and China, the two potential beneficiaries from de-dollarization either to avoid sanctions and/or to internationalize their currencies, was recognized in the declaration with the agreement to conduct a feasibility analysis for the BRICS Clear. A BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) was also included in the declaration with the aim of including alternative eligible currencies, specifically BRICS currencies, in the existing swap lines among BRICS countries. It should be noted that most of those swap lines have been extended by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and, therefore, have the RMB as vehicular currency, versus the local currency of other countries. These further evidences how BRICS is seemingly evolving into a hub-and-spoke model, with China as the central node. Finally, to support the use of local currencies in financial transactions between BRICS countries, as emphasized repeatedly in the declaration, a new BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism (ICM) will be developed. How such a mechanism can foster the use of local currencies without implementing BRICS Clear remains to be explored.
Overall, the global community, including Western nations, should pay more attention to the BRICS alliance. Beyond its growing size, BRICS is evolving into an increasingly anti-Western bloc with a clear intent to reshape the global order. China’s central influence within the group, supported by Putin’s alignment, underscores the urgency for the West not only to observe these developments but also to respond proactively, offering more compelling alternatives to countries in the Global South.
