Sep 12, 2026 11:40 am IST

Opinion | China, Russia, UAE: What Each Country Wants From BRICS

In the run-up to the summit, a reality check is worthwhile.

Tara Kartha Tara Kartha Columnist

Tara Kartha Columnist

Everyone knows the summit of the BRICS is on. Most know that the term is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and that it meets at exotic locations from time to time. Hardly anyone knows more than that. That's unsurprising. The ‘declarations' at the end of each such meeting are usually long, dilatory, seemingly short of any actual action. But in the new global chaos initiated by US President Donald Trump's tariffs and worsened by two raging wars, there has been greater interest in what BRICS can do about all this, particularly in terms of a shaky global economy. In the run-up to the summit, a reality check is worthwhile.

The BRICS came together in the background of the global financial crisis of 2008, and thus focused primarily on market volatility, energy, and, primarily, reforming the global financial system. At its very first summit in Yekaterinburg, then Russian President Medvedev decried the dominance of the dollar and stressed the centrality of the G-20. By then, Moscow had already been pushed out of the G-8, and China had eclipsed the US as the largest trading partner. The Indian economy was in serious trouble as GDP growth fell from 8.4% to a projected 5.6% thereafter. South Africa joined a year later as economic chaos continued. Shortly thereafter, the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) were set up. The former was aimed at lending for infrastructure and sustainable-development purposes, notably also in other non-member developing and emerging economies, a visionary and practical approach. Bangladesh was an early beneficiary of the bank's flexible financing terms. The CRA was aimed at mutual support during a sudden currency crisis, which was then followed logically to the use of local currencies. It still took a while for expansion, with Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia joining in 2024, while Indonesia joined just last year. The Saudis are listed as members, but don't call themselves so. That surge in membership continues, with some 10 countries waiting in the wings for full membership, much to the fury of the US President. But whether this grouping is indeed a challenge to its dominance is worth evaluating country by country.

The motivations of Russia are not hard to seek. Apart from the global financial meltdown, Russia has long been on both sides of the fence, no matter how much it considers itself part of ‘Europe'. All this worsened following the Crimea annexation of 2014 and then the Ukraine war, with increasingly destructive sanctions. Russia's total trade turnover with BRICS countries is over $330 billion, which is about 35% to 40% of Russia's entire global trade. More importantly, about 90% of this is conducted in national currencies. True, much of this is with China and India, but Brazil is also pulling up rapidly, doubling its trade last year. But the value of BRICS is that President Putin is an honoured guest in all these countries, even while it brought in Belarus as a partner, as well as Cuba and Kazakhstan - all ‘friendlies'. BRICS support matters in the fight in Ukraine, with China providing vital support, most recently 46 tonnes of a chemical material used to produce carbon fibre, vital for building lightweight drone airframes. 

India is accused of ‘buying oil' and supporting the war,........

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