Why India is wary of China’s BRICS expansion push as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt seek to join

Neither India nor Brazil want to lose influence in the bloc, with New Delhi concerned that enlargement would only grow Beijing’s strategic influence

All current members share a desire to reform the international system, analysts say, but a new world order is mostly in Russia and China’s interest

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The leaders of South Africa, China, Brazil, Russia and India at the 2022 BRICS summit hosted by Beijing. Photo: Xinhua via AP

Published: 9:30am, 5 Jul 2023Updated: 2:20pm, 5 Jul 2023

Not all members of the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies are getting behind the push to expand it, with India particularly “wary” of the plan, analysts say, as doubt lingers about whether the grouping could become a counterweight to existing regional alliances.

When the BRICS members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – gather for a leadership summit next month in Johannesburg, front runners to join the bloc will include Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bangladesh and Iran.

A three-day meeting involving senior officials began on Tuesday, with the expansion proposal expected to be on the agenda.

Once seen as a loose association of diverse emerging economies, BRICS – aimed at promoting peace, security, development and cooperation – represents 43 per cent of the world’s population, 26 per cent of its land area and about 30 per cent of the global economy.

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said the process for expanding BRICS is still “a work in progress”. Photo: AFP

China said last year it wanted the bloc to start working on admitting new members, but Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last month that the process was still a “work in progress”, citing the need to deliberate on standards, criteria and procedures of what an expanded grouping would look like.