BRICS for China: Avoiding western hegemony

The global upheavals of the last few years have led to the fact that many countries, worried about the policies of the West, have apparently started looking for an alternative in BRICS that would weaken the hegemony of the United States and build a fairer world order. China, which holds the G-5 presidency in 2022, is positioning itself as one of the most active members of the group, which currently includes Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. Beijing sees BRICS as a convenient platform to strengthen cooperation with its member states through existing multiple working mechanisms and engage with other members of the association on the accession of new member states.

?On February 6, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed in response to a question in Beijing that Chinese officials support the expansion of BRICS and believe that financial and economic cooperation among the association's member countries will continue. He said that China will join new BRICS members through dialogue and consultation while adopting a position of tolerance. In recent years, the BRICS countries have made significant progress in joint financial and economic cooperation, as well as in the financial sector. This is of great importance for improving trade relations among the association's member states as a whole, Mooning said, adding that Algeria, Argentina and Iran have already submitted their applications to join BRICS. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt have declared their interest in membership of this association. Beijing also calls on the "BRICS" countries to work not only to expand the BRICS structure, but also to strengthen coordination with other international organizations, especially the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

This position was expressed in November last year by Wang Yi, the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a meeting with the Russian Ambassador to China, Igor Morgolov, in Beijing. At that time, he said that in order to safeguard regional and global peace and stability, it is necessary to strengthen coordination and cooperation between the SCO and BRICS countries. Also, while talking about the expansion of BRICS, China always emphasizes that this will strengthen the position of the Association at the global level and strengthen the efforts of developing countries in the struggle to build a just world order.

The BRICS countries have increasingly begun to put forward proposals for the establishment of a single currency association, which could play a role in reducing the global dominance of the dollar in the future. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier, the topic of creating its own BRICS currency will be discussed at the summit of the association, which will be held at the end of August 2023. According to him, serious, respectable countries are well aware of what is at stake. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed to the intransigence of the owners of the current international financial system, in relation to which it is necessary to create mechanisms to ensure sustainable development, which will be protected from external dictates. The project is being actively discussed by the BRICS countries, but China is not yet in a hurry to officially state its position on the matter.

?In recent years, the role of the Chinese Yuan in regional trade in national currencies between China and association countries has increased significantly. In this regard, experts point out that given the volume of China's trade with the BRICS countries, the Yuan has actually become a kind of "single currency" in the association.

The role of the Yuan is also growing against the backdrop of a number of sanctions against Russia and several other countries that want to break out of the control of the financial system created by the West. However, China itself still moves to create a single BRICS currency. Apparently, Beijing is still assessing the risks and aligning the move with its financial and national interests, given the continued value of the dollar in trade with the West's biggest market partners, the New Development Bank said. (NDB), formed by the BRICS countries, headquartered in Shanghai, has also refrained from commenting on the issue of creating a single currency of the association. So far, China, which, like other BRICS countries, has stood for more independence of its financial system than the dollar, has been on a path to expand into national currencies. Beijing is actively cooperating in this area, especially with Moscow and New Delhi. In any case, the key issue is not the BRICS "single currency" or the transition from the dollar to the national currency in regional trade, but the transformation of the entire global financial system. The interests of the United States and its allies have been served by various international structures and organizations, and in world history such systems have always been broken down through upheaval and conflict. China is therefore treading carefully, perhaps not wanting a rapid deterioration in relations with its major trading partners in the West, but to be among the winners with minimal losses and to be fully prepared to take decisive action when the time comes.?