The summit meeting of the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -is a clear sign that the world's economic and political landscape is changing, with China leading the emerging economies. The fact that China hosted this meeting, in conjunction with the 10th annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia, founded to promote regional economic integration and development, reflects Beijing's growing influence in Asia and the world.
Beijing understands that it is premature to talk about sensitive political issues, such as security, given that the United States has treaty allies in Asia. So for now, at least, it is only talking about trade and economic integration.
As is its approach in other dialogues, Beijing prefers to tackle easy issues first before grappling with more difficult ones. This means achieving political trust through economic co-operation, which sounds good but is easier said than done. The BRICS platform, meanwhile, enables China to gain additional leverage while reaching out to other developing countries.
China will use the BRICS forum to gain clout within the G20, which has replaced the G8 as the maker of economic policy for the world as power shifts from the West to the bigger developing nations. Figures tell a story. The five BRICS countries account for 42 per cent of the world's population and 24 per cent of the global economy. Acting in concert, they will have a far greater -and perhaps less threatening- voice than China's alone.
And of the five countries, China is by far the most important. Not only is it the world's second largest economy, it is also the biggest trading partner of all the four other members.
Certainly, China would not be so crass as to try to boss the other countries around. It knows that each nation gives priority to its own interests, including in dealings with the US and Europe, even if they collectively call for far-reaching reforms in the global financial order.
To ensure success of the BRICS meeting, Chinese officials made it clear that they did not want outstanding bilateral issues to intrude.
