The Argentine government announced yesterday, Thursday, that it had secured China's official support for its bid to join BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), a coalition of emerging economic powers considered a powerful counterweight to the West.
Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia, where China's support was formalized, according to Cafiero's office. Argentina is a major exporter of soybeans, wheat, and corn, among other commodities.
«Wang Yi officially confirmed his country's support for Argentina's admission to BRICS, which is in line with what had already been agreed by the leaders» of the five countries, the Argentine Foreign Ministry noted.
He added that if Argentina joins the group, it will «strengthen and broaden its voice in defending the interests of the developing world.».
The president of Argentina, center-left Alberto Fernández, had announced that his country, which is struggling to overcome an economic crisis with high inflation and low foreign exchange reserves, would seek to join the BRICS group. This requires the unanimous approval of its members.
The term BRIC was introduced by Jim O'Neill, an economist at Goldman Sachs, in 2001 to describe the remarkable growth of the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The four powers held their first summit in Russia in 2009. South Africa joined the group in 2010.
China is by far the largest economy in this alliance, accounting for over 70% of its total economic power of 27.5 trillion dollars. India accounts for about 13%, Russia and Brazil for about 7% each, according to IMF data.
The BRICS countries account for over 40% of the world's population and around 26% of global GDP.
