Reference News Network, July 15 report: The UK's Guardian published an editorial on July 13 titled "The Rise of the BRICS: A New Group Pursuing Autonomy and Looking Toward a Post-Western Order." Excerpts follow:

The recent BRICS summit held in Brazil shows that this alliance of emerging powers is becoming increasingly complex, and perhaps more significant. For the BRICS, size matters. With Indonesia joining this year, the group's total population exceeds half of the world's, and its economic output, calculated by purchasing power parity, accounts for about 40% of the global total.

The term "BRICS" originally referred to Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa officially joined in 2011. The name came from Wall Street's prediction of emerging powers challenging the West. Today, the core characteristics of the BRICS are a more subtle and strategic ambition: opposing American hegemony while collaborating to build a joint high-tech industrial base. The BRICS have some commendable approaches. Global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund indeed need reform, and developed countries have indeed failed to fulfill their climate financing commitments. In response to this inaction, the group's reasonable reaction is to establish its own development bank and promote a green industrialization model.

Before the summit, the BRICS reached a formal collective position on financing for climate action, which will be helpful. The rapid development of renewable energy means that the share of fossil fuel power generation in the group's total capacity is now less than half. Given the climate emergency, such progress is undoubtedly welcome. The BRICS are now leading in green technology and have a thriving consumer market, possessing both the tools to drive industrial growth and the necessary scale.

The post-war order was built on three pillars: American dominance, hydrocarbons, and open trade. Now, these three pillars are crumbling, largely due to the United States itself. When the world's largest oil producer is the United States, there is little benefit for many BRICS countries in supporting oil. Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the BRICS, reflecting America's opposition to global trade. Trump imposed tariffs on Brazil over internal political issues, turning economic diplomacy into personal retaliation, highlighting the breakdown of the rules-based order.

This moment brings both challenges and opportunities. After facing Western tariff barriers, Chinese companies have shifted their focus to the BRICS. The BRICS' vision of smart, clean growth fills a gap in the global order.

Although not entirely united, the BRICS can still stand together. Their most technologically advanced yet most meaningful initiative is beginning to build financial "pipelines" that bypass the Western system. The group does not aim to abandon the dollar, but its members all know what it feels like to be excluded. Whether the BRICS succeed depends not only on their ambitions but also on their ability to coordinate the interests of member states. (Translated by Yang Ke)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7527125344492356148/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author and welcomes your opinion through the [Up/Down] buttons below.