People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa at the welcome ceremony of the State Visit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 2, 2024. As the world enters a Dystopian phase, the BRICS Plus nations will shape and guide an inclusive world order, says the writer. Picture: Katlholo Maifadi/DIRCO
Ashraf Patel
2025 got off to a big bang – literally and politically, in a rapidly fracturing geopolitical order Trump 2.0 outrageous Greenland and Panama Canal statements may signal a return to the old imperial order modelled on its 18th century frontier trade and ‘’gunboat diplomacy” order.
The shocking behaviour of Big Tech titans all of whom seek to ingratiate themselves with King Trump. Musk’s direct real-time involvement in nations states- via X in Germany’s elections, to the goading of UK Prime Minister Starmer – and Zuckerberg’s sudden ending of fact-checking on Facebook is grave concern for the public sphere. Meanwhile as the tragic fires in California, and as LA burns to the ground these Billionaire tech titans have gone AWOL, supposedly because California, is a ‘Blue state’, as they prepare and fund King Trump’s MAGA coronation on 20 January. So much for the ‘United States of America’ – where decades of Silicon Valley-style capitalism have generated social media dystopia, cowboy capitalism military-industrial complex amidst mega budget cuts, and now planetary climate chaos.
It is thus refreshing that the Global South, anchored by BRICS are now the new champions of Multilateralism, the UN Development Agenda and programs for genuine reform of Global Governance. Nine new members joined BRICS on 1 January 2025 – Indonesia, Malaysia Thailand, Uganda, Cuba, and Kazakhstan, and are expanding along the lines of the new Non-Aligned Movement to shape a new multi-polar world order.
BRICS East anchor signals manufacturing power and prowess
Anchored in the East, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand core members of the ASEAN are now anchored in BRICS. This is set to ensure smoother trade and investment harmonisation, as the New Development Bank NDB is an addition to the Asia Infrastructure Bank. Jakarta’s high-speed urban network- funded by China, and Vietnam is already a middle nation powerhouse – whose manufacturing output now exceeds that of South Africa and India all attest to the power of manufacturing and supply chains in global growth.
Bolivia and Cuba BRICS membership and Latin America shift
Latin America’s deepening commitment to a progressive global order deepens. Chile, Colombia and Brazil are solid progressive left governments committed to the UN and progressive multilateralism. Bolivia and Cuba’s ascension into BRICS further strengthens the Latin American left wave. Bolivia is especially vulnerable to public remarks by Musk’s call for regime change in Bolivia and demanded access to its lithium. By joining BRICS, Bolivia has access to important programs and resources that BRICS and a community of support and solidarity.
Cuba would benefit immensely from mitigating the effects of the decades-old US blockage and would see much-needed investment and trade in essential goods and services and intra-BRICS trade and development cooperation.
The Member States of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America – People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) applauded with satisfaction ‘the sisters and brothers of the Republic of Cuba and the Pluri-national State of Bolivia for joining the BRICS bloc as partners, which represents an important step towards a multi-polar world.’
For the Bolivarian Alliance, it is a source of joy to know that two member countries are part of a platform that is emerging with increasing strength to work on strengthening multi-lateralism for a more democratic world order; deepening cooperation for global stability and security; expanding financial and economic cooperation for equitable development; promoting exchange for the socio-economic progress of the world and consolidating a more just, humane and supportive world. (ALBA-TCP)
Africa’s BRICS momentum grows as Uganda and Algeria join in 2025 and AGOA is in doubt.
Alongside Egypt and Ethiopia, the incorporation of Uganda and Algeria further sees key nations in Africa that stand to benefit from BRICS particularly in infrastructure development, rail and road corridors, as well as meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals. SDGs. Nigeria, whose Naira collapses and has major energy challenges, despite being an energy exporter is set to seek BRICS membership in 2025-26. BRICS programs are attractive to new members. From Climate finance to Agricultural technology to Digital economy P4IR to the BRICS Vaccine platforms will greatly assist much of Sub-Saharan Africa in the decade ahead.
According to Peter Fabricus, South Africa faces many headwinds under Trump 2.0:
“For a US president who is publicly threatening to take Greenland and Panama by military force – and also to annex Canada through crippling economic pressure – kicking South Africa out of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), or even trashing the whole programme, would be a small change.” (Peter Fabricus, 13 January 2025)
As South Africa hosts the G20 in 2025, there will be a significant focus on the need to address the major African debt crisis and the super-high cost of financing. Here BRICS nations, not the G7 will co-shape the new financial models, debt write-offs, and genuine climate finance to ensure sustainable development.
China and Brazil are the powerhouses of Climate change and Green Energy.
On climate change, BRICS has championed the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities”. This ensures that climate actions consider different levels of development while balancing environmental goals with economic growth and poverty. Moreover, BRICS played a key role in introducing the notion of “climate justice” into the Paris Agreement.
As Brazil hosts BRICS as well as the UN COP 30, in 2025 under the leadership of President Lula and South Africa under President Ramaphosa has seen an anchoring of the BRICS-centric agenda within the G20A model that is rooted in the UN Development agenda, the genuine need for global governance reform and shaping of multilateralism, the Global South BRICS agenda.
According to Dialogue Earth’s Leo Horn-Phathanothai:
“Both have also been championing South-South cooperation via new institutions and spaces through which climate cooperation could be rapidly scaled. Among these are the New Development Bank or “BRICS bank”, headquartered in Shanghai and now headed by former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff; the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; the Boao Forum for economic cooperation; China’s South-South Climate Cooperation Fund (SSCCF); and the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s infrastructure investment programme that has now reached around 150 countries.“
In terms of green energy investments, China is the clear global leader. Key findings of the Green report analysis include:
- Clean-energy investment rose 40% year-on-year to 6.3tn yuan ($890bn), with the growth accounting for all of the investment growth across the Chinese economy in 2023.
- China’s $890bn investment in clean-energy sectors is almost as large as total global investments in fossil fuel supply in 2023 – and similar to the GDP of Switzerland or Turkey.
- Including the value of production, clean-energy sectors contributed 11.4tn yuan ($1.6tn) to the Chinese economy in 2023, up 30% year-on-year.
- Clean-energy sectors, as a result, were the largest driver of China’s economic growth overall, accounting for 40% of the expansion of GDP in 2023.
Horn-Phathanothai also states:
“China is the leading manufacturer and supplier of low-carbon energy technologies, China is uniquely positioned to drive investments that accelerate the adoption of affordable solutions worldwide, thereby facilitating green transitions. China is already contributing to this effort across Latin America and other regions. Meanwhile, the current Brazilian government is proposing a new industrial policy and an ecological transition programme focused on enhancing resilience, promoting environmental sustainability, and advancing energy transition in all its productive sectors.”
The year 2024 was the hottest year on record and as global population and urbanisation surged, the California LA fires and Mozambique floods, and uneven weather in South Africa, attest to the need for real climate finance and investment in adaptation and mitigation.
As the world enters a Dystopian phase, the BRICS Plus nations will shape and guide an inclusive world order, one within the UN SDG agenda, one that is fair, and just and expands equity and equality for humanity
Another World Is Possible under BRICS.
* Ashraf Patel is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Global Dialogue IGD, UNISA.
** The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The African.