Greater BRICS adds fresh momentum to the Global South

(ECNS)-- Recently, the 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi. As protectionism rises, geopolitical conflicts drag on, and the global development deficit widens, the “greater BRICS” is turning its growing representativeness into real capacity for action. Driven by cooperation under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial, cultural and people-to-people cooperation, the "greater BRICS" is bringing new hope for development across the Global South.

Greater BRICS lays the cornerstone for the Global South’s representativeness

The shift in the focus of BRICS cooperation in recent years shows that expansion has enabled the mechanism to better address the development needs of the Global South. The 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, 2024 marked the first collective appearance of the bloc following its first major expansion, while the partner-country mechanism was launched, laying the basic framework for the "greater BRICS". The 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2025, further advanced institutional coordination and produced new joint documents in areas of common concern to countries of the Global South, including artificial intelligence governance, climate finance, trade and economic cooperation, and financial cooperation. At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, 2026, “resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability” were identified as the four key themes. Taken together, the three summits following the expansion demonstrate the BRICS mechanism’s transition from “greater” to “stronger.”

The BRICS mechanism now comprises 11 full members and 10 partner countries, spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. According to data reported by The Indian Express, BRICS countries account for approximately 49.5 percent of the world’s population, 40 percent of global economic output and 26 percent of global trade. This means that when BRICS countries discuss international financial reform, digital governance, the energy transition or supply chain security, they are no longer voicing only the interests of a handful of emerging powers, but increasingly reflecting the genuine concerns of the Global South. The accession of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia has also brought countries at different stages of development, with diverse resource endowments and regional experiences, into the same platform for consultation and cooperation.

The move into a new stage of high-quality development for greater BRICS cooperation will help the mechanism better safeguard the common interests of the Global South and further foster inclusive, mutually beneficial and development-oriented partnership.

From “greater” to “stronger”: turning scale into action

In moving from “greater” to “stronger,” the BRICS mechanism still needs to strengthen its capacity to address practical challenges in several areas.

First, it needs to strengthen development financing. The New Development Bank (NDB) is one of the most substantive institutional achievements of BRICS cooperation. By the end of 2025, the NDB had approved 139 projects, with total financing of approximately $42.9 billion, covering clean energy, transportation, water resources, and social and digital infrastructure. Going forward, BRICS should expand the use of local-currency financing, co-financing and guarantee instruments to leverage more private capital, so that Global South countries are not shut out of development financing simply because of lower credit ratings or greater exchange-rate risks.

Second, it should steadily advance local-currency settlement and payment connectivity. The Kazan Declaration called for continued efforts to explore the use of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms, while the Rio de Janeiro Summit continued to emphasize improving the efficiency of cross-border payments. Promoting local-currency settlement and payment connectivity will give businesses in the Global South more options beyond the U.S. dollar. For developing countries with limited foreign-exchange reserves and high financing costs, this represents an important opportunity to strengthen financial autonomy and enhance their participation and voice in global financial markets. Building on the BRICS Payment Task Force, advancing cross-border payment connectivity among BRICS countries is also an important task.

Third, BRICS cooperation needs to ensure that new technologies genuinely benefit the Global South. BRICS has previously adopted a declaration on global AI governance. At this summit, China proposed initiatives on AI-enabled new industrialization among BRICS countries and welcomed active participation by all BRICS members in global AI cooperation. China’s own development experience shows that through openness, open-source approaches and cooperation, countries of the Global South need not remain merely recipients of AI rules. They can also become participants in technological progress, beneficiaries of innovation and shapers of global rules.

Greater is about capacity, not spheres of influence

Supply chain cooperation is another important avenue for the "greater BRICS" to turn its scale into resilience. At the summit, China proposed working with all parties to develop more R&D and application outcomes and deepen industrial and supply chain cooperation. Today, the "greater BRICS" collectively encompasses major global sources of energy, minerals and food, as well as manufacturing bases, consumer markets and key transportation hubs. If connectivity can be strengthened on the basis of voluntarism and consultation, countries may be better positioned to move beyond the closed and exclusionary model of “small yards and high walls,” reducing the spillover impact of global shocks on developing countries.

As the number of members grows, the internal coordination costs of the "greater BRICS" will inevitably rise. But the value of BRICS lies more in enabling countries with shared development needs to seek common ground while respecting differences and pursuing practical cooperation. As one of the founding members of the BRICS mechanism, China will continue to support BRICS expansion while leveraging its markets, capital, technology and development experience to drive cooperation among members and ensure that more tangible outcomes improve people’s well-being.

Standing at the starting point of the third “golden decade” of BRICS cooperation, there is good reason to believe that as long as members remain sincere, open and inclusive, and refrain from turning BRICS into an exclusive bloc, the mechanism can secure more development resources, institutional space and technological opportunities for the Global South.

Looking ahead, the "greater BRICS" can stand firmly on the right side of history, adding fresh momentum to the Global South and bringing a brighter prospect of prosperity and progress to the world.

The author, Hao Shinan, is an associate professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Shanghai International Studies University. The views do not necessarily reflect those of ECNS.