No sooner had the dust settled from the World Cup than Brazil played host to the five leaders of the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. An immediate outcome of the Fortaleza summit was the formation of the New Development Bank, a development finance institution to rival the World Bank. The group also announced a currency reserve pool as an alternative to the IMF. Done right, both initiatives could change the institutional landscape for multilateral development financing.

While it is rumored that Chinese President Xi Jinping requested the BRICS Summit in Brazil be held in July so he could attend the World Cup, Fernando Menéndez argues that China’s president should have more on his mind than a football game and highlights the significance of the upcoming BRICS Summit.

Expectations about the upcoming BRICS meeting in Brazil on July 15 are high, with many of the participant leaders aiming for the meeting to be a success for various political reasons. Eric Farnsworth analyzes these expectations, as well as the topics on the BRICS agenda for discussion.

With trade between China and Africa worth nearly $166 billion last year, it is no wonder investments from and exports to China are at an all time high. However, as South African President Jacob Zuma subtly noted last month in Beijing at the tri-annual China-Africa Forum, Africa desperately needs a transfer of technology from China too.

Attending his first multilateral summit since becoming president in March, Xi Jinping held a series of important multilateral and bilateral meetings at the G20. Without attracting much attention, Chinese foreign policy has been on a roll since last month’s summit.

Both the US and China, as the world two largest economies and members of G20, share a strong responsibility in supporting the common goal of establishing a job-rich, strong, sustainable and balanced growth path, writes He Weiwen.

Chen Xiangyang analyzes the growing pains of emerging nations, and suggests that China must learn from other countries' "mistakes" and make sure not to repeat them by doing everything necessary to ensure its own lasting political stability and social harmony.

Responding to The Economist’s editorial, “The Great Deceleration,” Fernando Menéndez calls for an end to “the tired old muddle of warmed-over Keynesian” analysis; instead, encouraging a more sophisticated approach with a new perspective to analyze emerging economies.

Following President Obama’s most recent trip to Africa, it is necessary to examine the United States’ Africa policy. Noting the core interests and efforts of the Obama administration in Africa, Chen Jimin explains there is room for cooperation on the continent based upon the shared interests of China and the United Sates.

President Obama has refused to be intimidated by China’s influence in Sub-Saharan Africa, visiting the same number of African nations in June and July as his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, visited in March. As the Obama administration attempts to portray the continent as an area for investment, Robert Rotberg explains the competing interests in the region.