BRICS: PRC Supports Expansion; Argentina Likely to Withdraw Application

Facts

• A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry reiterated Beijing's support for the expansion of the BRICS ('Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa') grouping of developing nations on Monday, stating a news briefing that any country interested in becoming a member will be welcomed.¹
• This comes as Argentina's proposed foreign minister under President-elect Javier Milei, Diana Mondino, told at the victory rally on Sunday that the country would likely decline membership on claims that there is no clear benefit for Argentina to enter the BRICS.²
• Argentina was the only one in the Americas to be invited to join the association's founding members during its last summit in August. However, Milei vowed during his campaign to decline the invitation, which would come into force in January 2024.³
• Next year, five other countries — Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — will enter the diverse bloc that accounts for nearly half of the world's population and more than a quarter of GDP.⁴
• More than a dozen candidates are believed to have applied to join BRICS, reportedly including Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, the Palestinian National Authority, Senegal, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.⁵
• The major emerging economies comprising the bloc have sought to represent the Global South on the world stage, often countering the US and its Western allies. On Tuesday, the BRICS and its future members — including Argentina — called for an end to the war in Gaza in a virtual summit.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²The New York Times, ³South China Morning Post, ⁴Economist, ⁵Newsweek and ⁶Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by The Diplomat. BRICS is merely a notoriety-seeking PRC-dominated group that comprises countries that have nothing in common, except the ambition to attain relevance in geopolitical affairs. Each nation certainly has its own reasons for applying to join the group, but, ultimately, doing so can only deepen its dependence on China.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by China Focus. The more that BRICS expands, the closer the world will be to a new, multipolar international order — with a robust, peacebuilding China —based on win-win cooperation and mutual respect that will replace the centuries-old exploitive Western dominance system. It's outrageous that the US and its allies keep judging the bloc and its members by their own standards.

Predictions