'BRICS Bank' planned to give developing countries a voice

China has revealed that BRICS may be taking a central role in nurturing a commanding voice among developing countries so that they have a bigger influence on politics at an international level.

Speaking ahead of a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in Brazil, President Xi Jinping explained that this will ensure that there is an equal balance of power, which is still largely concentrated in industrialised western countries.

The economic powerhouse has already made significant efforts in this area by, for example, looking into the viability of a “BRICS bank”, which would challenge the hegemony of institutions like the World Bank.

“We will dedicate ourselves to perfecting the international system of governance and proactively push for expanding the representation and right to speak for developing countries in international affairs,” Mr Xi was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Mr Xi was keen to assert that all these efforts originating from China are designed to make the world a better place – the idea of being a strong nation in an economic sense, he continued, is not to be confused with a political will to dominate other nations.

“China will resolutely pursue the path of peaceful development, to proactively seek a peaceful international environment for its own development, and will use its own development to promote world peace,” he said.

Many experts believe that this is a pivotal time in history, explaining that China and its economic allies are fast becoming a “counterweight” to western blocs.

With emerging economies like BRICS growing stronger by the day, and developing economies like MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) showing real appetite for growth, the international stage is looking far more balanced than ever before.

The BRICS summit is the sixth such gathering of world leaders from the member states and this year’s agenda is focused on social inclusion and sustainable development.

< Top image: GovernmentZA >