The Brazilian government is concerned about China’s maneuvers and attempts to expand the BRICS group, which today makes up some of the world’s largest emerging economies. The fear is that Beijing wants to use the block to expand its influence and create a parallel power pole as opposed to the G7.
This Thursday, the group’s leaders met virtually amid unprecedented international pressure on President Vladimir Putin. However, one of the issues discussed is the proposal to start the process of expansion of the movement today, which consists of Brazil, Russia, South Africa and India in addition to the hosts of China.
Officially, Itamaraty states that he is willing to talk about the issue. Last month, UOLThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Brazil and other BRICS partners support the initiation of the discussion process on the possible enlargement of the group, as reflected in paragraph 24 of the last Joint Declaration”.
In a statement made in May 2022, the foreign ministers of the five countries stated that they “support discussions on the BRICS enlargement process among BRICS members”.
But the text also says that ministers “underline the need to clarify the guiding principles, norms, standards, criteria and procedures for this enlargement process”.
Brazil also supports “continuity of BRICS activities with non-member partners,” according to Itamaraty.
But behind the scenes, top ambassadors claim there is a split in the bloc. If the Chinese want to continue expanding and set a political tone for the group, Brazil and India are hesitant to take this step. For Itamaraty, the existence of BRICS fulfills an economic and commercial objective above all. It is no accident that the government has given considerable weight to the idea of strengthening the bloc’s bank.
But what Brazil does not want to see is the re-creation of a bloc against Western powers. For Brazilian diplomats, this would be tantamount to re-establishing the Non-Aligned Nations Movement, a Cold War attempt to confront the logic of bipolar conflict. In practice, however, the US has exhausted its influence on the international scene.
Founded in the first decade of the 21st century, Brics was in a period of uncertainty before the war in Ukraine. But the alliance between Washington and Brussels, military tension, the use of the international financial system as a weapon against Moscow, and a clear attempt to redraw the boundaries of world geopolitics have repositioned the role of the group of developing countries at the center of the war. discussion.
At a meeting before the summit, just in May, the proposal for enlargement among the bloc’s chancellors was formally presented.
“China proposes to start the BRICS enlargement process, explore criteria and procedures for enlargement, and gradually build consensus,” said Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister.
During the meeting, Beijing invited other governments to a second meeting as a sign of its willingness to think about new members.
At the preparatory meeting, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Nigeria, Senegal and Thailand were invited to the event. The aim was to “expand dialogue with other countries and demonstrate the group’s mission to strengthen the role of emerging economies in global governance”.
source: Noticias
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