Brics expansion helps China, but bigger bloc could bring fresh risks and conflict, analysts say

Addition of Middle Eastern and African countries reflects Beijing’s influence and extends its diplomatic reach, according to observers

However, regional rivalries and conflicting motivations could make it hard for group to reach agreement on security and economic issues

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has called the Brics expansion “historic”. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 31 Aug 2023Updated: 11:02pm, 31 Aug 2023

The expansion of Brics to include six new countries, mostly in the Middle East and Africa, reflects China’s growing influence and could spur greater coordination on economic policy, observers said, but they warned the move could also open the bloc up to fresh risks and conflicts.

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were invited at last week’s summit to become full members starting next year. The bloc is currently made up of five emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the move as “historic”, saying it showed the members’ determination to cooperate with developing countries more broadly.

Jean-Loup Samaan, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute, said the invitation to join Brics could be viewed as an extension of recent Beijing-led initiatives involving Gulf states.

These include the westward expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – a security bloc founded by China and Russia in 2001 – to include Iran in July, as well as a Beijing-brokered peace deal between Riyadh and Tehran in March.

“It clearly signals China’s growing influence, not only just in economic matters but in diplomatic consultations too,” Samaan said.

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