China is the host of this year’s BRICS Summit, to be held in Xiamen, East China’s Fujian Province. BRICS is a novel organization comprising five large developing, industrializing economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The five countries constitute about half of the world's population and nearly a quarter of the world’s economic output. But there are many international organizations – why another? The five BRICS countries have increasing impact on global economics, regional affairs and even global affairs - yet they feel, not without justification, that their influence on global economics and finance underrepresents their growing import.  But what does BRICS actually do, other than, well, hold meetings? Does it complement, or compete with, other international bodies? What institutions have BRICS established and how do they operate? Why does China value BRICS so highly? Answering that, brings us… Closer To China

Start with the obvious: Today’s international financial bodies do not reflect the increasing economic strength of BRICS countries, especially China. The BRICS Summit seeks greater coordination among member countries in order to enhance their collective influence in bringing about reform, perhaps the first tangible challenge to the post-World War II Bretton Woods international monetary system. More broadly, BRICS represents the vision of a multipolar world, transitioning, in their view, away from a unipolar world, led by the United States. As an American, I’m all for other countries taking greater responsibility for world stability, politically as well as economically and financially. Just a friendly warning, though: Be careful for what you wish. The world is a messy place and BRICS countries, as mostly developing countries, are more vulnerable to global instabilities. Separately, BRICS countries can facilitate regional trade; Brazil and South Africa, for example, could provide entry to South American and African markets. BRICS is extremely important to China, and thus to us at Closer To China.