‘Out there with the fairies’: Lack of cooperation amongs BRICS members could leave it dead in the water

A former chief economist with Goldman Sachs has said the possibility of BRICS overtaking the U.S. economy is closer to a fantasy than reality, because two of the main players in the alliance have a tenuous relationship at best.

Economist Jim O’Neil, who first coined the term BRICS in 2001, told Reuters the idea BRICS being a genuine global club is “out there with the fairies” and “not feasible.”

“The idea that the BRICS can be some genuine global economic club, it’s obviously a bit out there with the fairies in the same way that the G7 can be, and it’s very disturbing that they see themselves as some kind of alternative global thing, because it’s obviously not feasible,” O’Neill said.

BRICS was first formed in 2009 in the wake of the 2008 global recession and originally had four member states – Brazil, Russia, India, and China. It has grown substantially over the past 20 years, adding South Africa in 2010, and since then has grown to include Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

According to O’Neil, BRICS as a group has not achieved much over the past 15 years, and added the alliance is more symbolic than anything.

“It seems to me basically to be a symbolic annual gathering where important emerging countries, particularly noisy ones like Russia, but also China, can basically get together and highlight how good it is to be part of something that doesn’t involve the U.S. and that global governance isn’t good enough,” O’Neil said.

The relationship between China and India – the two economic powerhouses of the group – has been mired with disputes over territory over recent years. O’Neil said he would take the alliance seriously when both countries are actually able to work together effectively.

“I will take the BRICS group seriously when I see signs that the two countries that really matter – China and India – are actually really trying to agree on things, rather than effectively trying to confront each other all the time,” O’Neil said.

Tensions could be beginning to ease between China and India, however, after China’s President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to an agreement over the long-running border disputes on Wednesday.

According to the Associated Press, the two leaders met for the first time in five years and this could spell the end of a four-year standoff between their respective militaries along their shared Himylayan border, which China has laid claim to.

“It’s important for both sides to shoulder our international responsibilities, set an example for boosting the strength and unity of the developing countries, and contribute to promoting multi-polarization and democracy in international relations,” Xi said.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters the pact will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity. However, he did not detail how exactly the border dispute would be resolved, and if the tens of thousands of troops still stationed there would be pulled back.

“The two leaders affirmed that stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, as two neighbors and the two largest nations on earth, will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity,” Misri said.

Met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Kazan BRICS Summit.

India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability.

Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations. pic.twitter.com/tXfudhAU4b

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 23, 2024

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

(Source: DD News/ANI) pic.twitter.com/WmGk1AlSwW

— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2024

#WATCH | Kazan, Russia: During the bilateral meeting with PM Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping says, “It’s my great pleasure to meet you in Kazan. It’s the first time for us to have a formal meeting in five years time. Both the people in our two countries and the international… pic.twitter.com/NCUm2DVmQY

— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2024

Russian President Valdimir Putin seemed confident BRICS would continue to expand, and stated on Wednesday there are over 30 countries currently wanting to join BRICS, according to a report from DP International.

“It would undoubtedly be wrong to ignore the unprecedented interest of the countries of the Global South and east in strengthening their contacts with BRICS,” Putin said.

The summit’s agenda is breaking away from Western-led financial institutions, reducing the reliance on the U.S. dollar and the influence of the SWIFT system. Putin reportedly wants stronger financial bonds between the members.

Putin said Wednesday the U.S. dollar is being used as a weapon, adding he does not reject using the dollar but feels forced to look for an alternative, because Russia is not able to work with U.S. dollars.

“The [U.S.] dollar is used as a weapon, it is true and we see that. I think it is a great mistake by those who do it, since the use of the dollar, which is still the most important tool in global finance, and its use as a political tool undermines trust in this currency, thereby reducing its capabilities. We are not the ones who do that. It’s others. We are not rejecting the dollar or fighting against it, but if they don’t let us work with it, what else should we do? We should seek other alternatives and this is exactly what we do,” Putin said.

JUST IN: Russian President Putin says it’s a “great mistake” to use the US dollar as a weapon. pic.twitter.com/4J3KU1Z6U7

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) October 23, 2024

Ulrich Schmid, professor of Russian studies at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, told France 24’s Eve Irvine the West should not overestimate the significance of the BRICS summit because the member states have clashing agendas, making any real progress slow.

“We do have very diverging agendas among the member states. So, for instance, Russia and Iran are extremely interested to create alternative trade platforms, alternative payment systems to evade the heavy sanctions they’re under … At the same time we have other countries who are just in favor of multilateral world orders, such as Brazil or India, and they at the same time want to continue to have very good relations also with Western countries, including the United States,” Schmid said.