From BRICS as China playground, India seeks pivot in expansion
BRICS Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, August 29: With scale of dominance, China for years evolved BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as its playgrounds. Deep pocket helped China to gain an unmatched heft in both BRICS and SCO. But now India aims to wrest the pivot from China in BRICS+6 on the strength of the rising economy and change in the terms of the global order with China facing the western heat for visibly making windfall out of the Ukraine War by throwing weight behind Russia.
India is making a case to the world community with its presidency of the G20 that New Delhi is a responsible actor to bridge the gaps between Global South (developing nations) and Global North (developed countries). Also, India brought to the forefront the rising scale of debts of the poor and developing nations, while spotlighting its intervention to rescue Sri Lanka from an economic collapse.
Incidentally, China is globally seen to be the main culprit in the unviable sovereign debts of several nations (some experts claim that there are as many as 63 countries across continents). India in contrast has been vocal during the G20 presidency of its development partnership model wherein the nations are not yoked in debt but guided into a development path which benefits the local people.
Arguments in favour of India wresting the pivot in the BRICS+ pin their cases on the imploding economy of the Communist nation. “China with dwindling exports as also imports losing sheen, cracks in property markets (Evergrande has lost 99 per cent of Mcap after trades were resumed after a 17-month hiatus, while debt woes of Country Garden, China’s largest developer by sales volume, look like spilling to wider economy), soaring unemployment rate (believed to be more than double of officially published rates in excess of 21 per cent as youths prefer ‘lying flat’), waning consumption demand warning from gig platforms market leader Meituan are considerably weighing on the economy and sentiments in general,” argued the SBI Research in a report on the prospects of BRICS+ breaking away from the past.
However, India’s former ambassador to China Ashok K Kantha in an article in The Indian Express argued: “…the ability of China, the largest economy and most influential country in the grouping to drive the agenda and future direction of BRICS should not be underestimated.” He called for India to be more proactive in exposing China in the grouping, including on issues such as Beijing’s aversion to the expansion of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The BRICS statement issued in Johannesburg had called for the inclusion of India, South Africa and Brazil in the UNSC. “India’s sweeping acceptance across eco-political spheres globally, its vibrant democratic stature, its success in dynamically steering the G20 Presidentship, the success of Digital Public Goods at population scale, the innovation led tech prowess of its skilled workforce…. ingrains a distinct advantage over both China and Russia as the undisputed intellectual leader of the block,” added the SBI Research report, which argued that “Russia is militarily and politically mothballed by the US/EU even as the long war in Ukraine shows no signs of a decisive tilt to either side”.
India’s profile is picking up on the trade front, as the report stated that “the bilateral total trade between India and the six new countries has increased in case of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the last 10 years…While India’s export increased to Argentina, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, its imports rose in case of Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE”.
The possible Indian pivot in the BRICS+6 also seems credible for the fact that New Delhi has the diplomatic heft to work the agenda by enlisting the participation of both the world. India, incidentally, has been featuring regularly in G7.
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