Priority should be rebranding as club for emerging economies

For the BRICS countries, a few speed bumps should be faced and dealt with carefully. The bloc's contribution to global growth is declining, with Russia and Brazil suffering from negative growth and China undergoing economic transitions. Brazil has just witnessed tumultuous political transitions in which former President Dilma Rousseff was removed from office in August, while South Africa and Russia have their own domestic problems.

Questions about BRICS's legitimacy and its future are on the rise given the member states' declining economic performance and a slew of differences ranging from political systems to certain geopolitical disputes. Trade exchanges within the group are still largely confined to bilateral, not multilateral interactions.

However, the bloc still means a lot to China and other members too. The China-Brazil comprehensive strategic partnership would not be possible if it was not for their BRICS ties. The multinational mechanism is also of great political, symbolic importance to developing countries, and its presence featuring leadership meetings is already a success for China's diplomacy.

Implementing their cooperative deals should be a top priority for the five nations. For that to happen, they need to re-brand the bloc as a club for emerging economies, boost trade exchanges, and seek more reciprocal deals like visa-free policy and judicial cooperation.

(China Daily 10/15/2016 page5)