CHINA’S LEADERSHIP IN BRICS+:
DRIVING CHANGE IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5752/P.2317-773X.2024v12n3p30-50Keywords:
Global South, Belt and Road Initiative, Leadership, China, BRICSAbstract
This article examines China's consolidation of leadership within BRICS+, highlighting its historical evolution and key strategies that have enabled it to assume a leading role. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is analyzed as a crucial example of China’s projection of economic and political power, significantly strengthening its influence in the Global South. Through a literature review, the article explores the internal dynamics of BRICS+ and how the Asian country has effectively aligned its interests with those of other member states, promoting economic cooperation and sustainable development through institutions such as the New Development Bank (NDB). The analysis of Chinese leadership not only addresses criticisms of potential economic neocolonialism but also emphasizes its role in seeking a new world order that is more favorable for emerging economies. By advancing multilateralism and greater equity in global governance, China’s leadership within BRICS+ represents both a significant challenge and an opportunity for the existing international system.
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References
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BRITO, C. F. M. Made in China / produzido no polo industrial da zona franca de Manaus : o trabalho nas fábricas chinesas. 5 maio 2017.
CHENG, J. Y. S. China’s Approach to BRICS. Journal of Contemporary China, v. 24, n. 92, p. 357–375, 4 mar. 2015.
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COOPER, A. F. The BRICS’ New Development Bank: Shifting from Material Leverage to Innovative Capacity. Global Policy, v. 8, n. 3, p. 275–284, 2017.
CORREA DA SILVA, W. El efecto del covid-19 en las relaciones internacionales: crisis de gobernanza, (des)orden y ausencia de liderazgo. Em: Transición de poder y transformaciones del orden liberal en tiempos de pandemia. [s.l.] Tirant lo Blanch, 2022. p. 81–98.
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DE SOYRES, F.; MULABDIC, A.; RUTA, M. Common transport infrastructure: A quantitative model and estimates from the Belt and Road Initiative. Journal of Development Economics, v. 143, p. 102415, 1 mar. 2020.
DEEPAK, B. R. China’s Global Rebalancing: Will It Reshape the International Political and Economic Order? Em: DEEPAK, B. R. (Ed.). China’s Global Rebalancing and the New Silk Road. Singapore: Springer, 2018. p. 1–12.
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DIXON, C. The New BRICS Bank: Challenging the International Financial Order? Global Policy Institute policy paper, n. 28, p. 1–13, mar. 2015.
DUTT, N. The US and the Asian Development Bank: Origins, structure and lending operations. Journal of Contemporary Asia, v. 31, n. 2, p. 241–261, 1 jan. 2001.
ECONOMY, E. C. The Third Revolution: Xi Jingping and the New Chinese State. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
FEARNSIDE, P. M. Dams in the Amazon: Belo Monte and Brazil’s Hydroelectric Development of the Xingu River Basin. Environmental Management, v. 38, n. 1, p. 16–27, 1 jul. 2006.
GALISTCHEVA, N.; RESHCHIKOVA, M. India-China Trade: History, Present State and Prospects. Higher School of Economics Economic Journal, v. 26, n. 2, p. 307–332, 2022.
GOMES, G.; ESTEVES, P. The BRICS Effect: Impacts of South–South Cooperation in the Social Field of International Development Cooperation. IDS Bulletin, v. 49, 24 jul. 2018.
GÜLSEVEN, Y. China’s Belt and Road Initiative and South-South Cooperation. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, v. 25, p. 1–16, 29 set. 2022.
GULUZIAN, C. R. Making inroads: China’s new silk Road initiative. v. 37, p. 135–147, 1 jan. 2017.
HAIDAR, S. India-China bilateral trade hit a new record in 2023: Envoy. The Hindu, 7 fev. 2024.
HILLMAN, J. E. The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century. [s.l.] Yale University Press, 2020.
HURLEY, J.; MORRIS, S.; PORTELANCE, G. Examining the debt implications of the Belt and Road Initiative from a policy perspective. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, v. 3, n. 1, p. 139, 28 jun. 2019.
HUSSAIN, E. The Belt and Road Initiative and the Middle Corridor: Complementarity or Competition? Insight Turkey, v. 23, n. 3, p. 233–252, 2021.
IQBAL, B.; RAHMAN, M.; RAHMAN, N. China as the Leader of BRICS Countries. 1 abr. 2020.
LATINO, A. The New Development Bank: Another BRICS in the Wall? Em: SCISO, E. (Ed.). Accountability, Transparency and Democracy in the Functioning of Bretton Woods Institutions. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. p. 47–69.
LEVERETT, F.; BINGBING, W. The New Silk Road and China’s Evolving Grand Strategy. The China Journal, v. 77, p. 110–132, jan. 2017.
LIPSCY, P. Y. Renegotiating the World Order: Institutional Change in International Relations. 1. ed. [s.l.] Cambridge University Press, 2017.
LISSOVOLIK, Y. BRICS expansion: new geographies and spheres of cooperation. Editorial for special Issue. BRICS Journal of Economics, v. 5, n. 1, p. 1–12, 5 abr. 2024.
LIU, W.; DUNFORD, M. Inclusive globalization: unpacking China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Area Development and Policy, v. 1, n. 3, p. 323–340, 3 nov. 2016.
LU, A. J.; XU, X. “Learning for the Rise of China”: Exploring Uses and Gratifications of State-Owned Online Platform. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., v. 4, n. CSCW1, p. 30:1-30:25, 29 maio 2020.
MAHMOOD, A. et al. The Role of Chinese Regimes of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative in the Transformation of Its Energy Diplomacy: Quest for Economic Sustainability. Sustainability, v. 14, n. 24, p. 16997, jan. 2022.
MARSON, M.; MAGGI, E.; SCACCHI, M. Financing African infrastructure: The role of China in African railways. Research in Transportation Economics, Transport Infrastructures: Investments, Evaluation and Regional Economic Growth. v. 88, p. 101111, 1 set. 2021.
MERINO, G. Del G7 a los BRICS+: la transición del sistema mundial y el escenario geopolíticoDel G7 a los BRICS+: la transición del sistema mundial y el escenario geopolítico. Reoriente: estudos sobre marxismo, dependência e sistemas-mundo, v. 3, 25 maio 2024.
MOROZKINA, A. The New Development Bank in Global Finance and Economic Architecture. International Organisations Research Journal, v. 10, p. 89–105, 1 jan. 2015.
MORRIS, D. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Rochester, NY, 29 jun. 2020. Disponível em: <https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3638592>. Acesso em: 26 jun. 2024
MORTON, K. China’s Ambition in the South China Sea: Is a Legitimate Maritime Order Possible? International Affairs, v. 92, p. 909–940, 1 jul. 2016.
NAKAO, T. Economic Outlook for Asia and the Role of the Asian Development Bank. Asia-Pacific Review, v. 24, n. 1, p. 37–57, 2 jan. 2017.
RUI, H.; YIP, G. S. Foreign acquisitions by Chinese firms: A strategic intent perspective. Journal of World Business, v. 43, n. 2, p. 213–226, 1 mar. 2008.
STIGLITZ, J. E. An agenda for sustainable and inclusive growth for emerging markets. Journal of Policy Modeling, Why Is World Growth Slowing Down? v. 38, n. 4, p. 693–710, 1 jul. 2016.
TORRES, H. R. Reforming the International Monetary Fund – Why its Legitimacy is at Stake. Journal of International Economic Law, v. 10, n. 3, p. 443–460, 1 set. 2007.
TRACY, E. F. et al. China’s new Eurasian ambitions: the environmental risks of the Silk Road Economic Belt. Eurasian Geography and Economics, v. 58, n. 1, p. 56–88, 2 jan. 2017.
VADELL, J.; BRUTTO, G. L.; LEITE, A. C. C. The Chinese South-South development cooperation: an assessment of its structural transformation. Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, v. 63, p. e001, 18 maio 2020.
VISVIZI, A.; LYTRAS, M. D.; JIN, P. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): New Forms of International and Cross-Industry Collaboration for Sustainable Growth and Development. Sustainability, v. 12, n. 1, p. 193, jan. 2020.
WANG, H. The New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: China’s Ambiguous Approach to Global Financial Governance. Development and Change, v. 50, n. 1, p. 221–244, jan. 2019.
WILSON, J. D. The evolution of China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: from a revisionist to status-seeking agenda. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, v. 19, n. 1, p. 147–176, 1 jan. 2019.
ZHANG, C.; ZHANG, M.; XIAO, C. From traditional infrastructure to new infrastructure: a new focus of China’s Belt and Road Initiative diplomacy? Eurasian Geography and Economics, v. 63, n. 3, p. 424–443, 4 maio 2022.
AL-AIBAN, K. Sustainable Growth in expanded BRICS: Linking Institutional performance, digital governance, and Green Finance to Environmental Impact. The Asian Bulletin of Contemporary Issues in Economics and Finance, v. 4, p. 92–119, 24 abr. 2024.
ANTWI-BOATENG, O. New World Order Neo-Colonialism: A Contextual Comparison of Contemporary China and European Colonization in Africa. Journal of Pan African Studies, v. 10, p. 177, 23 abr. 2017.
BAGWANDEEN, M. Changing Realities: China-Africa Infrastructure Development. Asia Policy, v. 17, n. 3, p. 18–29, 2022.
BAIK, J. “One Belt One Road” and the geopolitics of empire. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, v. 20, n. 3, p. 358–376, 3 jul. 2019.
BANDIERA, L.; TSIROPOULOS, V. A Framework to Assess Debt Sustainability under the Belt and Road Initiative. Journal of Development Economics, v. 146, p. 102495, 1 set. 2020.
BAUMANN, R. El comercio entre los países BRICS. 1 ago. 2009. Disponível em: <https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/El-comercio-entre-los-pa%C3%ADses-BRICS-Baumann/0e11d9fe8540cca37b5c7a5aacca6a3906625d17>. Acesso em: 20 jun. 2024
BOND, P. Costs and Benefits of China’s Role in Southern Africa. Em: VASILIEV, A. M.; DEGTEREV, D. A.; SHAW, T. M. (Eds.). Africa and the Formation of the New System of International Relations: Rethinking Decolonization and Foreign Policy Concepts. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. p. 139–156.
BRESLIN, S. China and the South: Objectives, Actors and Interactions. Development and Change, v. 44, n. 6, p. 1273–1294, nov. 2013.
BRITO, C. F. M. Made in China / produzido no polo industrial da zona franca de Manaus : o trabalho nas fábricas chinesas. 5 maio 2017.
CHENG, J. Y. S. China’s Approach to BRICS. Journal of Contemporary China, v. 24, n. 92, p. 357–375, 4 mar. 2015.
COCHRANE, L.; ZAIDAN, E. Shifting global dynamics: an empirical analysis of BRICS + expansion and its economic, trade, and military implications in the context of the G7. Cogent Social Sciences, v. 10, n. 1, p. 2333422, 31 dez. 2024.
COOPER, A. F. The BRICS: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
COOPER, A. F. The BRICS’ New Development Bank: Shifting from Material Leverage to Innovative Capacity. Global Policy, v. 8, n. 3, p. 275–284, 2017.
CORREA DA SILVA, W. El efecto del covid-19 en las relaciones internacionales: crisis de gobernanza, (des)orden y ausencia de liderazgo. Em: Transición de poder y transformaciones del orden liberal en tiempos de pandemia. [s.l.] Tirant lo Blanch, 2022. p. 81–98.
DARNAL, A. et al. The Future of BRICS: Between Objectives and Challenges • Stimson Center. Stimson Center, 9 nov. 2023. Disponível em: <https://www.stimson.org/2023/the-future-of-brics-between-objectives-and-challenges/>. Acesso em: 7 jun. 2024
DE SOYRES, F.; MULABDIC, A.; RUTA, M. Common transport infrastructure: A quantitative model and estimates from the Belt and Road Initiative. Journal of Development Economics, v. 143, p. 102415, 1 mar. 2020.
DEEPAK, B. R. China’s Global Rebalancing: Will It Reshape the International Political and Economic Order? Em: DEEPAK, B. R. (Ed.). China’s Global Rebalancing and the New Silk Road. Singapore: Springer, 2018. p. 1–12.
DIAKITE, A. D. PERSPECTIVES OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES ON THE IMPACT OF CHINESE AID: A CASE STUDY OF CHINA’S AID PROJECTS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR IN GUINEA. Journal of Globalization Studies, v. 14, n. 2, p. 85–103, 2023.
DIXON, C. The New BRICS Bank: Challenging the International Financial Order? Global Policy Institute policy paper, n. 28, p. 1–13, mar. 2015.
DUTT, N. The US and the Asian Development Bank: Origins, structure and lending operations. Journal of Contemporary Asia, v. 31, n. 2, p. 241–261, 1 jan. 2001.
ECONOMY, E. C. The Third Revolution: Xi Jingping and the New Chinese State. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
FEARNSIDE, P. M. Dams in the Amazon: Belo Monte and Brazil’s Hydroelectric Development of the Xingu River Basin. Environmental Management, v. 38, n. 1, p. 16–27, 1 jul. 2006.
GALISTCHEVA, N.; RESHCHIKOVA, M. India-China Trade: History, Present State and Prospects. Higher School of Economics Economic Journal, v. 26, n. 2, p. 307–332, 2022.
GOMES, G.; ESTEVES, P. The BRICS Effect: Impacts of South–South Cooperation in the Social Field of International Development Cooperation. IDS Bulletin, v. 49, 24 jul. 2018.
GÜLSEVEN, Y. China’s Belt and Road Initiative and South-South Cooperation. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, v. 25, p. 1–16, 29 set. 2022.
GULUZIAN, C. R. Making inroads: China’s new silk Road initiative. v. 37, p. 135–147, 1 jan. 2017.
HAIDAR, S. India-China bilateral trade hit a new record in 2023: Envoy. The Hindu, 7 fev. 2024.
HILLMAN, J. E. The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century. [s.l.] Yale University Press, 2020.
HURLEY, J.; MORRIS, S.; PORTELANCE, G. Examining the debt implications of the Belt and Road Initiative from a policy perspective. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, v. 3, n. 1, p. 139, 28 jun. 2019.
HUSSAIN, E. The Belt and Road Initiative and the Middle Corridor: Complementarity or Competition? Insight Turkey, v. 23, n. 3, p. 233–252, 2021.
IQBAL, B.; RAHMAN, M.; RAHMAN, N. China as the Leader of BRICS Countries. 1 abr. 2020.
LATINO, A. The New Development Bank: Another BRICS in the Wall? Em: SCISO, E. (Ed.). Accountability, Transparency and Democracy in the Functioning of Bretton Woods Institutions. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. p. 47–69.
LEVERETT, F.; BINGBING, W. The New Silk Road and China’s Evolving Grand Strategy. The China Journal, v. 77, p. 110–132, jan. 2017.
LIPSCY, P. Y. Renegotiating the World Order: Institutional Change in International Relations. 1. ed. [s.l.] Cambridge University Press, 2017.
LISSOVOLIK, Y. BRICS expansion: new geographies and spheres of cooperation. Editorial for special Issue. BRICS Journal of Economics, v. 5, n. 1, p. 1–12, 5 abr. 2024.
LIU, W.; DUNFORD, M. Inclusive globalization: unpacking China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Area Development and Policy, v. 1, n. 3, p. 323–340, 3 nov. 2016.
LU, A. J.; XU, X. “Learning for the Rise of China”: Exploring Uses and Gratifications of State-Owned Online Platform. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., v. 4, n. CSCW1, p. 30:1-30:25, 29 maio 2020.
MAHMOOD, A. et al. The Role of Chinese Regimes of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative in the Transformation of Its Energy Diplomacy: Quest for Economic Sustainability. Sustainability, v. 14, n. 24, p. 16997, jan. 2022.
MARSON, M.; MAGGI, E.; SCACCHI, M. Financing African infrastructure: The role of China in African railways. Research in Transportation Economics, Transport Infrastructures: Investments, Evaluation and Regional Economic Growth. v. 88, p. 101111, 1 set. 2021.
MERINO, G. Del G7 a los BRICS+: la transición del sistema mundial y el escenario geopolíticoDel G7 a los BRICS+: la transición del sistema mundial y el escenario geopolítico. Reoriente: estudos sobre marxismo, dependência e sistemas-mundo, v. 3, 25 maio 2024.
MOROZKINA, A. The New Development Bank in Global Finance and Economic Architecture. International Organisations Research Journal, v. 10, p. 89–105, 1 jan. 2015.
MORRIS, D. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Rochester, NY, 29 jun. 2020. Disponível em: <https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3638592>. Acesso em: 26 jun. 2024
MORTON, K. China’s Ambition in the South China Sea: Is a Legitimate Maritime Order Possible? International Affairs, v. 92, p. 909–940, 1 jul. 2016.
NAKAO, T. Economic Outlook for Asia and the Role of the Asian Development Bank. Asia-Pacific Review, v. 24, n. 1, p. 37–57, 2 jan. 2017.
RUI, H.; YIP, G. S. Foreign acquisitions by Chinese firms: A strategic intent perspective. Journal of World Business, v. 43, n. 2, p. 213–226, 1 mar. 2008.
STIGLITZ, J. E. An agenda for sustainable and inclusive growth for emerging markets. Journal of Policy Modeling, Why Is World Growth Slowing Down? v. 38, n. 4, p. 693–710, 1 jul. 2016.
TORRES, H. R. Reforming the International Monetary Fund – Why its Legitimacy is at Stake. Journal of International Economic Law, v. 10, n. 3, p. 443–460, 1 set. 2007.
TRACY, E. F. et al. China’s new Eurasian ambitions: the environmental risks of the Silk Road Economic Belt. Eurasian Geography and Economics, v. 58, n. 1, p. 56–88, 2 jan. 2017.
VADELL, J.; BRUTTO, G. L.; LEITE, A. C. C. The Chinese South-South development cooperation: an assessment of its structural transformation. Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, v. 63, p. e001, 18 maio 2020.
VISVIZI, A.; LYTRAS, M. D.; JIN, P. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): New Forms of International and Cross-Industry Collaboration for Sustainable Growth and Development. Sustainability, v. 12, n. 1, p. 193, jan. 2020.
WANG, H. The New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: China’s Ambiguous Approach to Global Financial Governance. Development and Change, v. 50, n. 1, p. 221–244, jan. 2019.
WILSON, J. D. The evolution of China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: from a revisionist to status-seeking agenda. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, v. 19, n. 1, p. 147–176, 1 jan. 2019.
ZHANG, C.; ZHANG, M.; XIAO, C. From traditional infrastructure to new infrastructure: a new focus of China’s Belt and Road Initiative diplomacy? Eurasian Geography and Economics, v. 63, n. 3, p. 424–443, 4 maio 2022.
Published
2025-11-16
How to Cite
Romera Mejías, D., & Correa da Silva, W. (2025). CHINA’S LEADERSHIP IN BRICS+:: DRIVING CHANGE IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH. Estudos Internacionais: International Relations Journal of PUC Minas, 12(3), 30–50. https://doi.org/10.5752/P.2317-773X.2024v12n3p30-50
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