14-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Brics ‘not anti-Western' but must unite against ‘external shocks': Chinese think tank
The
Brics group should raise its strategic profile on the world stage, working together to tackle 'external shocks' including Western sanctions against founding member Russia, according to a government-affiliated Chinese think tank.
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The Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS), in a report published on Wednesday, argued that the emerging economies group was not aligned against the West. Rather, it was a non-Western platform that sought a 'just and reasonable post-Western order' while championing the needs of the developing world, it said.
The report comes with the expanding group encountering growing scrutiny as it is seen to challenge the Western dominance of world affairs.
Set up in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, the group was renamed Brics after South Africa joined the following year. It has since expanded to 10 members.
Western officials have questioned the growing influence of Brics, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening tariffs if it
moved to create a currency to rival the US dollar's dominance in global trade.
02:07
Xi and Putin vow stronger China-Russia cooperation to counter Western-led world order
Xi and Putin vow stronger China-Russia cooperation to counter Western-led world order
In their report, SIIS researchers said Brics had grown in appeal and influence, becoming an important force in promoting Global South cooperation and the reform of the global governance system.