Brics bigger than G7: Expansion boosts global clout but Trump, China pose challenge

Over the past two decades, Brics has evolved from a forum of four emerging economies to a group of 11 nations that its supporters say is ushering true multilateralism in the world. Critics, however, say that the bloc is just a Chinese tool to unseat the United States to become the world’s foremost superpower.

The idea of Brics emerged in 2001 when then-Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O’Neill argued that Brazil, Russia, India, and China had the potential to reshape the global economic landscape by 2050 due to their large populations, rapid economic growth, rising global influence, and rapid upward social mobility.

In 2006, the four countries came together to form Bric — South Africa joined in 2010. With the expansion in 2024 , the group has 11 members.

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Brics has positioned itself as a non-Western alternative for supporting economic growth and cooperation. Even though the group’s influence has risen, challenges have also risen and the group now finds itself as a critical juncture.

Brics is bigger than G7 but faces tough challenges

In 2015, Brics launched New Development Bank (NDB) to fund infrastructure and development projects in developing countries.

With initiatives like the NDB and the Russia-led grain exchange, and collaboration in other areas of emerging technologies and economies, Brics has positioned itself as an alternative to Western-dominated financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. But, even as Brics continues to attract new members, the group is far from replacing IMF or World Bank and stares at formidable challenges — both internally and externally.

Internally, the very purpose of Brics is under question as China has sought to become the leader of the group and turn it into an anti-Western bloc. Russia has supported China to the hilt in this quest. The two countries are already part of an anti-Western alliance also comprising Iran and North Korea (the so-called CRINK bloc) and want to make Brics an extension of that bloc — while the CRINK bloc clashes with the West militarily, Brics takes on the West economically.

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Externally, Brics has faced strong opposition from US President Donald Trump , who has dubbed any move by the group to dethrone the US Dollar as a red line. He has threatened Brics members with 100 per cent tariffs if they move towards a Brics currency or dedollarisation.

With such challenges that put the very basis of the group in question, Brics stands as a unique blend of opportunities, aspirations, and challenges, and India as a founding member and a competitor of China has its own share of challenges.

A non-Western group or an anti-Western group?

India has gone to great lengths to explain to the West that Brics is not an anti-Western group and that it supplements Western institutions like the IMF and World Bank and does not seek to replace them. But China and Russia continue to push the group as an anti-Western bloc.

Brics is definitely a China-dominated group as China is the largest economy and contributes to 40 per cent of the bloc’s gross domestic product. Moreover, NBD is headquartered in Shanghai even as five initial members —Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa— are equal shareholders of the bank.

The presence of ironclad partners Russia and China (and Iran as well) in Brics further adds to the anti-Western impression of the bloc.

However, India’s presence in the group and, more importantly, its status as a founding member counterbalances the China-Russia influence. India has so far prevented the bloc from turning into an anti-Western bloc. In March, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar dismissed fears of Brics trying to replace the US Dollar .

Instead, India considers the strength of the US Dollar essential for global stability, said Jaishankar.

“I don’t think there’s any policy on our part to replace the dollar. As I said, at the end of the day, the dollar as the reserve currency is the source of international economic stability. And right now, what we want in the world is more economic stability, not less,” said Jaishankar.

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India has also used its status as an equal shareholder at NDB to prevent the bank from turning into an extension of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

As China is not just working to dethrone the United States, but is also looking forward to suppress India’s rise, India’s continued presence and assertion of its role as a founding member in Brics is a must. Anushka Saxena, a China researcher at the Takshashila Institution, previously told Firstpost that India’s involvement in Brics and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a must to ensure these institutions work for stated purposes and not become China’s tools.

“In Brics, India’s priorities lie in making sure that principled guidelines are laid out to set benchmarks for membership, in creating space for consensus-building against the possibility of China’s influence-peddling, and in attempting to retain the image and brand value of Brics as a community of developing market economies demanding more voice in global governance,” she said Saxena.

“Similarly, in the SCO, India’s role as a disruptor is vital. If China and Russia continue to propagate the idea that these groupings are anti-West, India’s presence becomes necessary to maintain the balance and act as a bridge with the West,” Saxena further said.