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The BRICS summit in New Delhi comes against a backdrop of growing pressure on the global economy, with the US-Iran war and Russia's conflict with Ukraine among other things.
Amid all this, BRICS cooperation can help countries in the Global South move beyond simply managing supply-chain disruptions and build more resilient, self-reliant economies. Published in China Daily, an editorial argues that growing geopolitical tensions and protectionism are exposing developing economies to repeated economic shocks. Against this backdrop, it presents the expanding BRICS grouping as a platform that can strengthen not only supply-chain security but also what it calls development-chain resilience. The Chinese editorial highlights that BRICS can diversify trade for the Global South. The BRICS grouping brings together major agricultural producers, manufacturing economies, energy and resource exporters and large consumer markets. This gives developing countries more options for sourcing, exporting and finding trading partners. Greater coordination on standards and technical regulations could reduce barriers for small businesses and emerging traders. BRICS cooperation could help more companies from the Global South enter regional and international markets, the editorial argues. The Chinese perspective says that BRICS countries have held three meetings of transport ministers focused on cross-border connectivity. It points to new air and maritime links and the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor as examples of expanding connectivity. The editorial cites the Xiamen-Durban route as an example of how information sharing, regulatory recognition and law-enforcement cooperation can streamline customs clearance for participating companies. In areas of energy, food and minerals underpin resilience, BRICS cooperation is described as central to global supply-chain security. The editorial further argues that increasing the use of local currencies in intra-BRICS trade can reduce exposure to exchange-rate volatility. It says local-currency settlement accounts for more than 65 per cent of trade within BRICS and has reached 99 per cent in China-Russia trade. The New Development Bank (formerly known as BRICS Development Bank) is presented as another pillar of economic resilience. The editorial says the bank had approved 141 projects worth $44 billion as of June 2026. The editorial stresses that supply-chain resilience alone is insufficient if Global South economies remain dependent on exporting resources and low-value-added goods. BRICS cooperation can change that equation by connecting resource development, processing, manufacturing and markets. BRICS initiatives in digitalisation, smart manufacturing, green development and artificial intelligence. The editorial said that the China-BRICS Artificial Intelligence Development and Cooperation Centre is intended to support policy exchanges, technical training and project cooperation. The editorial argues that economic resilience ultimately depends on people and institutions. It points to BRICS cooperation in education, governance and culture, including the expansion of the BRICS Network University to 11 fields. The shift from supply-chain resilience to development-chain resilience reflects a broader ambition for BRICS: creating a more stable and inclusive environment for developing economies. (ANI)
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