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Brics ‘not anti-Western’ but must unite against ‘external shocks’: Chinese think tank

Global South grouping just seeks ‘just and reasonable post-Western order’, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies report says

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The initial Brics grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has grown to 10 members. Photo: AP
Dewey Simin Beijing
The Brics group should raise its strategic profile on the world stage, working together to tackle “external shocks” including Western sanctions against founding member Russia, according to a government-affiliated Chinese think tank.

In a report published on Wednesday, the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) argued that the emerging economies group was not aligned against the West. Rather, it was a non-Western platform that sought a “just and reasonable post-Western order” while championing the needs of the developing world, it said.

The report comes with the expanding group seen to challenge the Western dominance of world affairs.

Set up in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, the group was renamed Brics after South Africa joined the following year. It has since expanded to 10 members.

Western officials have questioned the growing influence of Brics, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening tariffs if the bloc moved to create a currency to rival the US dollar’s dominance in global trade.

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In their report, SIIS researchers said Brics had grown in appeal and influence, becoming an important force in promoting Global South cooperation and the reform of the global governance system.

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