China's foreign trade with other BRICS countries increased by 19.1 percent in the first seven months of 2023, accounting for 10.1 percent of China's total foreign trade value during that period.
BRICS seeks to expand its membership and become a champion of the "Global South," with over 40 countries expressing interest in joining the bloc to challenge Western dominance and address grievances related to abusive trade practices and neglect of poorer nations' development needs, among others. However, observers note that BRICS has a limited track record and may struggle to deliver on expectations.
The Brics economic group, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is discussing the possibility of expanding its membership and promoting the use of local currencies for trade settlement, with aims to challenge the dominance of the US dollar, but analysts believe that the greenback is unlikely to lose its status as the international reserve currency.
The BRICS nations have caught up with the G7 in terms of collective GDP, but still lag behind in terms of GDP per capita, according to the IMF.
China's leader Xi Jinping assures the BRICS group that China's economy remains resilient and its long-term growth fundamentals are unchanged, despite challenges such as a property slump and weak consumer spending.
The BRICS summit, which aims to establish a new world monetary order and give voice to underrepresented nations, is criticized for being a nebulous concept without concrete achievements and is primarily centered around China.
The BRICS group is reportedly inviting Saudi Arabia and Egypt to join, with over 40 countries expressing interest and an expanded BRICS potentially accounting for 44% of the global economy by 2040.
The BRICS alliance, now including six of the world's largest oil producers, aims to utilize its mass oil production to promote local currencies and reduce reliance on the US dollar in international trade.
The BRICS 2023 Summit saw the expansion of the alliance with the addition of six countries, potentially leading to a shift in the global economic order and significant de-dollarization efforts, while notable absences by Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping raised concerns, and China and India made progress in their border talks.
The BRICS nations are divided on the issue of de-dollarization, as statements from the bloc's leaders indicated, despite discussions about the creation of a common currency to rival the US dollar.
The expansion of BRICS to include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates will make the bloc represent 46 percent of the world population and 37 percent of global GDP, but China's economic dominance within the group raises questions about whether it will truly be an "equal partnership."
The BRICS expansion and their de-dollarization efforts have been met with a relatively calm response from the US, Germany, and the European Union, emphasizing the importance of countries choosing partnerships based on their national interests.
The BRICS bloc, which has now expanded to include 11 countries, controls 30% of the global economy, 46% of the world's population, and a significant share of commodities such as manganese, graphite, nickel, and copper, as well as 42% of the global oil supply, potentially putting pressure on the US economy and challenging the traditional world order.
The extended BRICS alliance, which now includes six new countries, has a GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) that accounts for more than one-third of the global economy, giving them the potential to control exports of oil to the West and influence trade settlement currency choices.
The residual impact of sanctions against Russia is causing divisions among the Group of 20 countries, with some nations resisting US-led efforts and forming alliances with Russia and China, while the BRICS nations are seeking to reduce reliance on the US dollar.
The G20, which is meeting in New Delhi, India, has seen a major shift in power dynamics over the past two decades, with the BRICS bloc now having a slightly higher combined GDP than the US, and EU countries accounting for around 20% of the G20's economic output.
The BRICS expansion, which includes countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran, has raised concerns in the U.S. and EU as it poses a threat to Western-dominated financial markets, while China's influence grows and the alliance aims for de-dollarization in global trade.
The BRICS bloc, including countries like India, China, and Russia, is slowly reducing its dependency on the US dollar and using their local currencies for trade, which could potentially weaken the US dollar's position as the dominant global currency.
