As the BRICS prepare to launch the New Development Bank, Fernando Menéndez explores the political and economic factors motivating its creation and what it might imply for Latin America.

With the launch of the New Development Bank, Curtis S. Chin provides four recommendations the BRICS should consider when creating the international financial institution.

The most recent BRICS summit was noteworthy for generating the first concrete collective initiatives in the group’s history. Whereas the BRICS past meetings and had yielded mostly joint declarations, the July 15 summit in Brazil saw them launch two high-profile financial initiatives. Perhaps even more important, they seem prepared to undertake other collective projects in the energy and nonproliferation realms.

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.