Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles - [Narrator] Here's the G7, a group of seven of the world's advanced economies including the US, UK, and Japan. And here's what some call the alternative from the developing world, the BRICS, formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS is trying to position itself as the voice for emerging economies and challenge western dominance of global affairs. Its leaders are holding a summit in Johannesburg to discuss an historic expansion. More than 40 countries including Saudi Arabia and Iran want to join. - The expansion of BRICS could definitely boost the group's global influence. - [Narrator] Let's look at what a potential enlargement means for the alliance and its ambitions to shake up the global political and economic order. - The original term BRIC was actually coined by a Goldman Sachs banker, grouping these really different countries together because they were so fast-growing. - [Narrator] The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China formalized their relationship in 2009, and invited South Africa to join the alliance a year later. - They decided to take that idea in an effort to create a bit of a political and economic counterpoint to what's perceived as the western hegemony of the global political and economic spheres. - [Narrator] The BRICS countries together make up more more than 40% of the world's population and almost 1/3 of the world's GDP. According to data from the International Monetary Fund, the bloc has already overtaken the G7 nations' share of the global economy on the basis of purchasing power parity. That's where the purchasing power of different currencies is equalized. Projections by Goldman Sachs show the world's economic balance shifting towards the BRICS and emerging economies. China is expected to overtake the US as the world's largest economy by 2050, with India climbing to number three. - China and India have experienced massive growth since the BRICS were founded in 2009, and certainly have helped them swell in importance and remain relevant on the global stage. - [Narrator] China and Russia are pushing to enlarged BRICS. Experts say Beijing is keen to create an alternative grouping to counter the US and the west on the world stage. - China has been bullish on expanding BRICS for some time, and they're particularly keen at the moment because of the trade tensions with the US, the US looking to diversify its supply chains away from China. - [Narrator] Russia sees an expansion as a way to gain more international allies following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (footsteps pattering) South Africa publicly supports the expansion, as does Brazil, but experts say behind the scenes, Brazil and India want a more measured approach. - It seems that they are concerned about the group leaning too autocratic, so they want to have very specific requirements for admission to make sure that there's a balance amongst the members, and that it doesn't become sort of the autocratic G7. - [Narrator] More than 20 countries have formally applied to become part of BRICS, ranging from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia, Argentina, and Indonesia. Experts say Saudi Arabia is a strong candidate as a major economic and energy power in the Middle East with a growing role in regional diplomacy. Indonesia with the world's fourth largest population is another strong contender. - Indonesia being such a large economy and important in the electrification, clean energy tech, electric vehicles, might be a logical choice. - [Narrator] One reason for joining the BRICS is gaining access to the bloc's New Development Bank. Since its founding in 2014, the bank has approved more than $30 billion in loans for development and infrastructure projects. - Access to funding from this bank which seemed to be having more favorable terms than a traditional development bank like the World Bank or the IMF is definitely something that's attractive to a lot of countries. - [Narrator] The New Development Bank also wants to deepen the use of local currencies instead of the US dollar for trade and financing between the BRICS nations. Ultimately, experts say one of the biggest challenges for the BRICS to counter the west is to form a united voice on major global issues. - Generally, the countries have pretty diverse and diverging interests in politics, on security issues, and even relations with the US. I think the group would like to be seen as an alternative political forum to the G7 group of developed nations. Whether or not it is able to achieve that, I think will largely depend on what countries it admits. (bright music)
B1 UK WSJ narrator g7 china global economic Brics: The G-7 Economic Alliance’s Rival, Explained | WSJ 39 2 Kelly Lin posted on 2023/09/27 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary