First glance: BRICS is becoming a more solid construction
Alicia Garcia Herrero
In this shorter piece, Bruegel Senior Fellow Alicia-García-Herrero offers a quick analysis of the dynamics unfolding in the newly expanded BRICS group and the Kazan declaration that was issued on the back of the BRICS meeting in Kazan, Russia, on 22-24 October 2024.
The Kazan declaration helped underscore two things, she argues. Firstly, it was a clear demonstration of anti-Western rhetoric that argues for a multipolar world but with a multipolarity concept that opposes the West directly in several significant ways. De-dollarisation also received continued attention, though the fact that the BRICS Clear structure did not receive endorsement from the collective group point to several of the group members still being wary of the de-dollarisation approach.
Secondly, while much of the declaration’s content aligned especially well with Russian interest, there is no doubt that China enjoys a position as “first among equals”. The aforementioned aspects of the declaration are therefore also not least results of a Chinese push and/or acceptance. Consequentially, the West should be increasingly aware of the role that the BRICS group play: (1) for all its members and especially China who could seek to convert the group into a sub-set of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative and (2) as an evolving anti-Western bloc with the firm intention of changing the global order.
About authors
Alicia Garcia Herrero
Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, Non-resident Senior Follow at the East Asian Institute, Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Economist specialized in monetary and financial issues in emerging markets, banking crises and resolution strategies, financial development