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BRICS ushers in new opportunity for fairer trade in new world order
A survey by ISEAS Singapore last year showed that in the eyes of the citizens of Indonesia and other ASEAN countries, the EU no longer has strategic economic or political influence in the region.
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An aerial photo taken on Dec 17, 2020, shows the headquarters building of the BRICS New Development Bank in Shanghai, China. (ANN/China Daily/Xinhua/-)
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em>Sandyakalaning Majapahit, or the Twilight of Majapahit, a classic Indonesian drama, tells the story of the deceitful elites who brought about the end of the Majapahit Kingdom, an agrarian and naval superpower of the 15th century. But it also portrays the hope of the dawn of a new empire.
Can we expect the same from the expansion of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) bloc with the increasing power of the developing world?
Since the establishment of the European Union with the Maastricht Treaty on Nov. 1, 1993, the bloc has grown to include 27 member states. As an enormous economic powerhouse, the EU has brought indispensable impacts to both the global economy and security. Its leverage in resources has enabled EU countries to shape the perceptions of global issues, which often deviate from reality.
However, both the EU and the United States are not following a path toward strategic autonomy and are now on the brink of irrelevance.
In terms of economic power, the EU accounts for only 15 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), down from 25 percent in 1990, while BRICS, after six new members join in January 2024 will comprise nearly 30 percent of the global GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund.
After the six new members, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), join the bloc, BRICS will represent 46.5 percent of the world’s population.
The five founding and current member countries have argued that their economies and populations are not properly represented in important institutions, particularly the World Bank and the IMF.
