Editorial | BRICS nations can navigate economic instability together

Beijing is not alone in rejecting criticism and sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. Brazil, India and South Africa have also been mute, their shared values as members with China and Russia of the BRICS grouping of major emerging markets ensuring a common stance. Their position was plainly voiced by President Xi Jinping in an address at the alliance’s annual gathering of leaders, the focus being the need for countries to work together to ensure global stability and development. Without cooperation for mutual gain, the economic quagmire the world has become mired in will persist and deepen to the detriment of all.

That message was repeated by each leader at the BRICS Business Forum on Wednesday and it was a theme of the summit on Thursday. Without naming the United States and its allies, Xi reiterated China’s position that a Cold War mentality, confrontation and unilateral penalties were counterproductive and not in the spirit of multinational cooperation and globalisation. His sentiments were echoed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who rebuked the West for provoking a crisis through imposing sanctions against his government and both leaders called for greater BRICS cooperation. Washington has labelled China and Russia its main rivals and spearheaded efforts to stifle their growth and development with tariffs and by imposing economic and diplomatic penalties for alleged violations and abuses.

The rivalry, centred on a strategy of building an alliance of mostly Western nations to block trade, technology and chain supplies, has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine. Russia’s BRICS partners have kept apart from the sanctions, attracting Washington’s ire and the possibility of secondary penalties. But it is in unity that the grouping’s members can navigate the economic instability and the summit came at an opportune time. Accounting for about a quarter of the world’s economy, they pledged to step up trade and investment with one another to enhance the stability, diversity and reliability of supply chains. The Beijing-hosted gathering enabled discussion on ways to counter prevailing and perceived risks and challenges, attain new opportunities for development and achieve more robust, greener and healthier growth.

Brazil, Russia, India and China established the grouping in 2009 with a shared goal of countering the global dominance of the United States. South Africa joined the following year. They want more members and reform of the multilateral system to make it more representative and inclusive. As was evident at the summit, BRICS also serves as a platform for discussing issues of common concern for developing countries. As Xi observed, developing and developed nations should have equal rights, rules and opportunities.