David Monyae
China is hosting the 14 th BRICS Summit in its capacity as the 2022 chair of the grouping. The meeting
comes at a time when the world is facing numerous challenges including economic uncertainty, global
pandemic, fragile peace and security, climate change and threats to multilateralism and economic
globalization. Controlling about 24% of the global GDP, 16% of world trade, and home to 41% of the
world’s population, the BRICS bloc certainly has the political and economic clout to have a say in the
direction the world will take in the next few years. The BRICS chair and the leader of the group’s most
important member, Chinese President Xi Jinping, gave a keynote speech titled “Fostering High-quality
Partnership and
Embarking on a New Journey of BRICS Cooperation” on the 23rd of June. The speech addressed some of
the most pertinent global issues namely peace and security, global development, technological
innovation, and global economic openness. President Xi’s speech did not only give the world a peek into
the thinking of the world’s second largest economy but also painted a picture of US-China polarization
on major global issues.
Xi spoke about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which, perhaps to avoid casting Russia as the aggressor,
he called the “Ukraine crisis”. In a thinly veiled criticism of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), Xi blamed the Ukraine war on what he said were “attempts to expand military alliances to seek
absolute security, stoke bloc-based confrontation by coercing other countries into picking sides, and
pursue unilateral dominance at the expense of others’ rights and interests”. The Russian President
Vladimir Putin justified his armed forces’ invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February this year on
Ukraine’s intentions to join NATO which he viewed as an expansion of the western military alliance and
a threat to Russia’s national security. While the US and its western allies imposed sanctions on Russia
and sponsored a series of United Nations resolutions condemning Russia, the BRICS members have
steadfastly refused to join in the sanctions and also abstained from the UN resolutions. In an apparent
condemnation of the US, the Chinese leader encouraged the world to oppose hegemonism and power
politics which jeopardise world peace and security. Xi used the platform to tout his Global Security
Initiative which he first proposed in April this year which seeks to promote “comprehensive, cooperative
and sustainable security” for the world based on the principle of indivisible security. The GSI could be
China’s way of claiming global leadership and casting itself as a responsible global power in a direct
challenge to US dominance. However, China has work to do in convincing important allies such as South
and East Asia, Russia, Africa, and Europe to buy into its initiative.
Further, President Xi also delved into global development lamenting the widening global inequality
between the developed and the developing regions of the world as a result of weakened international
development cooperation. He advanced China’s Global Development Initiative as part of the solution to
combat rising world poverty and put the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development back on track. The
GDI seeks to promote cooperation and development in areas such as food security, poverty, education,
health, and the environment among other things. Once again, through the GDI, China is standing up to
fill the global leadership vacuum left by traditional western development partners. The GDI has been
endorsed by the United Nations. For regions like Africa whose development prospects have been greatly
undermined by the Covid-19 pandemic, the GDI offers an opportunity to reduce poverty amongst their
people.
The Chinese President also discussed the state of the global economy raising concerns that the global
economic recovery may be reversed. He spoke against the ‘deliberate disruption’ of vital industrial and
supply chains and the rising commodity prices which were causing global inflation. According to a report
by the World Bank, global economic growth estimates for 2022 have been reviewed downwards from
the initial 4.1% to 2.9% which is sharp decline from the 5.9% that was achieved in 2021. President
encouraged openness, inclusiveness and integration and criticized what he called the “weaponisation of
the global economy”. He was making reference to the US-led economic isolation of Russia as part of the
sanctions regime following its invasion of Ukraine. This saw the freezing of Russia’s foreign currency
reserves, barring Russia from accessing its money held in US banks and removing important Russian
banks from the international financial messaging system. China and the US are also engaged in an
ongoing trade war which has seen the average US tariffs on Chinese exports grow to 19.3% from less
than 5% before the trade restrictions. The average Chinese tariffs on US exports grew to 21.2% from
around 8% before the trade war. Moreover, the strategic competition between the world’s two biggest
economies has brought the world on the brink of technological decoupling. As a result, the US has
tightened export controls against China’s technology companies particularly restricting the supply of
semiconductor chips to China. Semiconductor chips are an indispensable peace of technology lying at
the heart of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) that is currently sweeping across the world. By raising
these critical questions, Xi may have been mobilizing the BRICS countries to think about creating an
alternative global economic system which would reduce their vulnerability to arbitrary western
measures. He mentioned the BRICS Initiative on Enhancing Cooperation on Supply Chains which was
established to enhance industrial and supply chain resilience. His message comes across as a rallying cry
to challenge the West’s control of the global economy which gives it immense strategic advantage.
Xi announced that the BRICS cooperation was entering the stage of high-quality development made
possible by the complementarity of their diverse economies. He praised the BRICS Partnership New
Industrial Revolution earmarked to promote cooperation in the digital economy, smart production,
clean energy technology and industrial transformation within BRICS countries underpinned by win-win
and mutual benefit principles. As the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) takes its course, digital
technology will be central in raising economic productivity and creating new development opportunities,
hence cooperation will be of utmost importance. These issues are also highlighted in the Strategy for
BRICS Economic Partnership 2025. It remains to be seen whether the five countries can transform the
loose alliance into a tight knit economic partnership. The disparities in the sizes of their economies with
China’s economy more than double the size of the other four economies combined. Moreover, the
BRICS bloc is far from a happy marriage. India and China still have to resolve their border disputes which
have seen deadly brawls between their militaries. Nonetheless, the bloc’s resolute stance on the Russia-
Ukraine conflict showed the potential for cooperation on strategic issues.
David Monyae is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Political Science and Director of
the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg